Looking for a way to support children and families in our communities?  How are the Children? has posted  a list of organizations who accept donations of food, household goods, furniture, clothing, and cash.  If one of your New Year's resolutions is to clean and organize, bring food and/or your clean, gently used clothing, towels, sheets, coats, boots, etc. to one of these organizations. 

All of these organizations provide services to our neighbors and would be great places to support. 

5.  Your mother-in-law keeps telling you your nine month old should be walking by now (her children did!) and you want to set her straight.

4.  Your child loves bugs (or wants to learn to sew) and you don't have a clue.    

3.  You know you should talk with your middle schooler about alcohol but you're not sure what to say. 

2.  Your teen is totally stressed out and you want to help. 

Community matters when raising kids.  Through Community Connections, How are the Children? is creating positive environments for children by:

• Connecting families with community supports and resources; and

• Connecting caring adults to kids and the programs serving them.

Many places have a role to play in providing positive opportunities for young people to develop well.  When we think about “how are the children?”, we tend to focus on individual factors, but children and young people develop within the context of family, peers, neighborhood, schools, community, and the larger culture.  When all of these work together to create positive, healthy environments for kids, the cumulative effect is much greater than focusing on the child alone, the family alone or the community alone.