All parents want what’s best for their child.  If your child is having difficulty learning in school, getting help can be complicated, confusing, and frustrating.  The legal standards for special education and the process for meeting those standards is complex.  Trying to decipher the acronyms in the special education world is overwhelming.  IEP?  504?  IDEA?  RTI?  Tackling this task while caring for your child with special needs and managing ...

Baby on the way or a new family?  Turn to NPN for the resources you need to get a handle on some serious changes heading your way. RSVP today for events just for new and growing NPN families. Remember to log in first before RSVPing to members only events. You will receive an e-confirmation upon successfully registering.

Expectant/New Parents: Convert Me, Baby! (4/24) - Calling all skeptics! Hear from real moms who got “converted” to less conventional choices like c...

Sleep for children is one of the most important requirements in childhood development, and children with sleep issues cannot be taken lightly.  Getting enough sleep is essential to good health and many body functions, such as growth, proper brain development, alertness and memory, healing and healthy immune system functioning.  Through sleep, our bodies recharge and renew for the next day's challenges. Emerging research suggests that too little sleep contributes to atten...

Welcome to your first step into the Chicago School search process.  I was talking to two moms of 2 year olds (thanks Kelly and Liz!) and they reminded me how overwhelming this process can be.  The NPN online School Directory and downloadable eDirectory are amazing resources to help you find a list of 2-year old preschool options!  NOTE: these are only available to NPN members.  Join today to get started! Here is my advice and please let me know if it helps!!!

#1. De...

Plan your best summer ever with onthegoChicago.com!

NPN members can start finding where the FREE fun is hiding this summer for less.  Get $15 off a yearly membership to onthegoChicago.com, Chicago’s most comprehensive and searchable website for families.  That’s an entire year’s worth of kid-sized fun for only $34.90 (less than $3 a month).

With the dog days of summer on the horizon, it’s time to start filling up your summer dance card with kid-siz...

Most people have had the experience of coming across an item, a song, a food, or something else that, in a split-second, whisks them back to another day (Who said that time travel is impossible? I beg to differ!).  These flashbacks are the idea behind the upcoming May 6th Listen To Your Mother show.  Don't miss the video clips from prior performances below - you will be grateful for the laughs, tears, and smiles.

As a parent, the occasional memory jog is a speci...

Looking for the PERFECT GIFT for a new or soon to be parent? NPN is thrilled to announce the sales of our gift memberships through these terrific Chicago retail partners:

Beautiful Beginnings

Flourish Studios

Kickin'

Lazar's Furniture

Little Beans Cafe

Little Threads

Urba Baby

vfish Designs

Give the gift of NPN - a year of connections, support & most-have city parenting information - for only $45. As an added bonus, receiv...

Having a baby can be as exciting as it is exhausting. Sleep deprivation can build quickly after a few sleepless nights. Since babies do not come home with set schedules, you need to create one for yourself. Work with your other caregivers to determine when you can carve out a four-to-six-hour uninterrupted slot for sleep. For example, you take “baby duty” from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., then your partner takes the 2–8 a.m. shift, enabling you both scheduled time to sleep.

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Spring has arrived alarmingly early in Chicago. With five straight record setting 80 degree days in March, the tulips are shooting up and the trees are nearly in full bloom. 5 tips for welcoming the change in season with kids!

1) Take a family trip to the farmers’ market or to a farm. There are few better ways to connect your children with the earth. We’re all so used to the blessings of modern transportation and our grocery stores do not lack asparagus and raspberries even...

Have you ever been behind the wheel during a snowstorm? Imagine you are driving in a complete whiteout that keeps getting worse and worse until you can barely even see the lights from the car in front of you. You start to feel panicked, anxious and frustrated. These are the same emotions that children feel when they cannot see what is in front of them: that is they don’t know what boundaries to expect and cannot predict consequences for their actions or rules to keep them safe. This ...