Parenting Educators

Professional Development: 

Connect & Learn Webinars for Parenting Educators – Oregon Parenting Education Collaborative   

OPEC Training Academy Webinars for Parenting Educators – Oregon Parenting Education Collaborative  

Essentials of Parenting Education Professional Practice – Oregon Parenting Education Collaborative  

The Ford Family Foundation released Foundations of Facilitation, a FREE and incredibly valuable presenter resource on their website. You can now download your own copy to keep, study, and use as a refresher before teaching your next Parenting Education series!  

NEW! Spanish Translation for Ford Family Foundations of Facilitation curriculum   

OPEC Parenting Educator Professional Development System – This is a professional development platform for professionals who teach parents. It is free, it takes very little time and talks well with the ORO (Oregon Registry Online) System. If you are a contracted Parenting Educator with The Family Connection, we will ask for you to be registered and upload your certifications. When The Family Connection does reporting on your taught programs, the information you input for your teaching hours will match our reports. For a monthly email & more professional development training opportunities, please connect to the OPEC Parenting Educator Post (email sign up at bottom of page).  

Child Mind Institute Self-paced library of resources regarding adult and child mental health and parenting topics.

The National Alliance of Children’s Trust Fund Alliance online training courses to support implementation of the Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors Framework in multiple settings. 

Bridging Communities and FACT Oregon Families with children experiencing mental, emotional or behavioral health challenges will gain access to a support team of families and friends and a community network where questions are answered, resources are shared, and needs are understood. On Demand Webinars at FACT Oregon.

Good2KnowNetwork offers a variety of free resources for parents, caregivers, and educators to help track a child’s development. English and Español printables for families.

OPEC Parenting Together Newsletter is a monthly newsletter full of information and resources for parents available in English and Español.

OPEC Blog Welcome to the Oregon Parenting Education Collaborative blog! We publish useful information for families, caregivers, and professionals who support children and families. Available in English and Español.

Trauma Stewardship An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others — this book is available for free from TFFF Select Book Program!  

National Parenting Education Network National Conferences

Sesame Workshop  Curated list of meaningful resources and videos to share with children and families. Certificates of completion available for professional development self-paced webinars.

Mindfulness and Resilience to Stress at Work   

This self-paced course can be audited for FREE! Time commitment is about 1-2 hours per week for about 4 weeks. The course instructors are expert faculty from UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, Dacher Keltner, Ph.D., and Emiliana Simon-Thomas, Ph.D. They are the creators of the popular course, The Science of Happiness.   

Cox Campus    

Free training modules with certificates of completion on literacy and other early childhood education (parenting) topics. If you would like to use their videos for teaching or training purposes, please follow their guidelines for use at https://www.coxcampus.org/resource-sharing-guidelines/ 

Parenting Education Program Adaptations and Resources: 

Conscious Discipline Book Portal, Shubert’s School and Home, Video Gallery, Free Webinars, Podcasts and more.

Parenting Educator Handbook from the perspective of Make Parenting a Pleasure. What is facilitation? Respecting family cultures, how to hold space in a parent group, etc.

The Greater Good Science Center - Parenting videos for parenting programs regarding raising caring, courageous kids. Modules on honesty, gratitude, love, forgiveness, etc.

First Three Years Free Resources

ZERO to THREE Ages and stages resources for parents.

PBS for Parents Help children learn and grow. Video and article resources.

Getting Started: A Guide for Parenting Educators – Oregon Parenting Education Collaborative  

Webinar: What We’ve Learned: Practical Tips for Facilitating The First Three Years Parenting Groups on Zoom  

Make Parenting a Pleasure (from Mid-Valley Parenting / Polk-Yamhill OPEC Hub)  

Webinar: Family Fun Night: Adapting Make Parenting a Pleasure for Remote Delivery  

Nurturing Parenting (from Building Healthy Families / Wallowa-Baker-Malheur OPEC Hub)  

Webinar: Getting Creative: Adapting the Nurturing Parenting for Parents of Adolescents program for remote learning  

Strengthening Families (from Mid-Valley Parenting / Polk-Yamhill OPEC Hub)  

Webinar: Out of the Box: Adapting Parenting Education to Virtual and Remote Settings  

Parenting Education Curricula Resources: 

• Foundations of Facilitation materials  
• Haga de la Paternidad un Placer (Spanish Version – Make Parenting a Pleasure)  
• Incredible Years  
• Make Parenting a Pleasure / Parenting Now  
• Nurturing Parenting  
• Parenting: The First Three Years
• Strengthening Families Program for parents of 7-17 year olds  
• Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth 10-14  

How EVERY Child Can Thrive By Five TedX Talk. Breaking down the research-backed ways parents and caregivers can support children's healthy brain development by highlighting the benefits of play on lifelong learning, behavior and well-being. Effective strategies are shared to help all kids thrive by the age of five.

PEW Research Center "Parenting in America Today" Mental health concerns top the list of worries for parents; most say being a parent is harder than they expected. This evidence-based research article does include gender, race, ethnicity, and income and the different experiences parenting. Article written Jan 2023.

Self-paced Research & Courses: 

I-LABS Training Modules Each module in the library takes an in-depth look at a unique topic in the science of child development. For parents and early childhood educators, available in several languages.   

Introduction to Trauma Informed Care (TIC) Online Training Modules Four self-paced modules covering the basics of trauma informed care.

Institute for the Advancement of Family Support Professionals Through engaging, online modules and a personalized learning map feature, professionals take charge of their growth and advancement. These free resources are designed for the National Family Support Professionals competencies but also align with parenting education core areas of the OPEC Parenting Educator Professional Development System. 

Resources To Add Depth to Your Program: 

Growtherapy World free training library focused on child and adolescent mental health and wellbeing.

NAMI Adult and Child Mental Health Video Library Learn more about common mental health conditions that affect millions.

Anti-Racist Resources from Greater Good — Greater Good Magazine  

21 Anti-Racism Videos to Share with Children & Parents – Conscious Discipline 

The Brain Architects Podcast  experts their ideas and personal stories about applying the science of play in homes, communities, and crisis environments around the world.

Connecting With the Most Challenging Children - The Power of Love: Conscious Discipline Resource. "Why Can't We All Just Get Along?"

CASEL: SEL as a Lever for Equity and Social Justice (5 Parts)  

American Psychological Association (APA): Uplifting Youth Through Healthy Communication About Race  

National Education Association (NEA): Creating Space to Talk About Race In Your School  

Grandfamily Toolkits from Generations United:  

• African American Grandfamilies  
• American Indian & Alaskan Native Grandfamilies  

Trauma Informed Care: Considerations for Remote Delivery of Parenting Education Programming – Oregon Parenting Education Collaborative  

Gender Roles in Family  from Oregon State University’s College of Public Health and Human Sciences – Gender roles shape nearly all of our social interactions, so what does this mean for families?   

Researchers Baldwin, Measelle, Pfeifer and Caouette Examine Youth and Teen Behavior  —  University of Oregon faculty members are making important inroads in our understanding of the growing brain. They’re examining critical stages for babies and adolescents and advising caregivers on how to nurture young minds for healthy development.  

Center on the Developing Child (Harvard University) Resource Library  

See info graphics, videos, briefs and more related to positive parenting, brain-building through “serve and return” interactions, and strategies for promoting resilience.  

Center for Parent & Teen Communication  

Articles and resources focused on positive relationships between parents and their adolescents, including growth and development, communication, building character, and health & prevention.  

Father's Playbook app is here to help. This app is developed for guys to help them understand pregnancy and prepare them for after the baby comes. 

Vroom.org (English/Spanish) - Vroom Tips™ help you do more with your shared moments. Add learning to mealtime, bathtime, bedtime, or anytime with 1,000+ fun, free activities. 

Top 35 Parenting Podcasts Raising children means facing new and unexpected situations on an almost daily basis. As our children grow, their needs, wants, and behaviors change so fast, we don’t always know how to deal with certain situations. That’s why listening and learning from parenting experts or more experienced parents could be a great strategy. 

The National Maternal Mental Health Hotline can help. Call or text 1-833-9-HELP4MOMS (1-833-943-5746). TTY users can use a preferred relay service or dial 711 and then 1-833-943-5746.