Families and Parents

Last revised/updated 2:41 p.m., September 2, 2022

Peterborough Public Health is committed to supporting parents and caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic.  This webpage provides links to relevant resources for families.  The resources are listed alphabetically, by title, and there is a list of acronyms at the bottom of the page.

On This Page:

Positive Parenting during COVID-19
Illness, Health and Children
Mental Health Support for Parents, Children and Youth
Co-parenting during COVID-19
Pregnancy, Postpartum and Infant Feeding
Activities and Learning Opportunities
Financial Support for Families
Couple/Parent Tips
About COVID-19

Positive Parenting during COVID-19

• 24/7 The Working Parent Podcasts, The Psychology Foundation of Canada
  • Expert psychological advice on questions about parenting and work life submitted by working parents across Canada.
• Child Development and COVID-19, Center on the Developing Child
  • This guide pulls together information on COVID-19, what it means for child development, and easy-to-share resources that can help parents and caregivers, as well as child care providers, pediatricians, and others who work with families.
• COVID-19: 24/7 Playful Parenting Parenting for Lifelong Health
  • Evidence-based playful parenting tips available in more than 100 languages.
• Communication Strategies, Real Happy Endings
  • YouTube Summary of book: How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk
• Helping Your Kids Get Along: A Dad’s Guide, Dad Central
• Learning Disabilities at Home, LDAO
  • Website provides education, knowledge and resources for households of Ontario impacted by Learning Disabilities (LDs).
• My COVID Disability Q, CanChild/Kids Brain Health/Child Bright Network
  • Twitter Q and A Hub for Canadian Families with Disabilities
• Pandemic Toolkit Parents Need, Psychology Today
  • Article with 8 expert tips to help families stay regulated.
• Parenting Tips, Unicef
  • Article with expert tips to help you deal with COVID-19 parenting challenges.
• Parenting Resources, Canadian Paediatric Society
  • Website with information on many health topics
• Positive Discipline in Everyday Parenting (Interactive resources and free book download)
• Positive Discipline in Everyday Parenting Workshops:
  • Positive Discipline Workshop 1, Develop Long Term Goals and a Positive Home Environment
  • Positive Discipline Workshop 2, Understanding How Children Think and Feel
  • Positive Discipline Workshop 3, Problem Solving – Bedtime, Tantrums and Listening
  • Positive Discipline Workshop 4, Responding with Positive Discipline
• WE GOT THIS: Parenting Support, Jean Clinton
  • 18 video episodes by Dr. Jean Clinton, child psychiatrist and Ann Douglas, parenting expert)

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Illness, Health and Children

• Caring for a Child with COVID-19 at home, PHAC
• How to Care for a Child Who Needs to Self-Isolate, Public Health Ontario
• COVID-19 PCR Test (video for children), BC Children’s Hospital
• Frequently Asked Questions About COVD-19 and Your Child, Canadian Paediatric Society
• Help Your Child Wear a Mask Comfortably, Kidcrew
• How to take a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT)

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Mental Health Support for Parents, Children and Youth

• 30-3-30 Approach, Learn 4 Mental Health
• BounceBack, CMHA
  • A guided self-help program for adults and youth aged 15 and over using workbooks with online videos and phone coaching support.
• COVID & Kids’ Mental Health, ChildMind Institute
• How You and Your Kids Can De-Stress, PBS Kids
• Kids Help Phone,
  • 24/7 virtual support service offering professional counselling, information and referrals as well as volunteer-led, text-based support to young people in both English and French at 1-800-668-6868.
• Mental Health and the COVID-19 Pandemic, CAMH
• Mental Health During COVID-19: Signs Your Child May Need More Support, AAP
• Parenting in a Pandemic, Ann Douglas with Children’s Mental Health Ontario
• Therapist Guided Program, Mind Beacon
  • free mental health support and therapy for Ontario residents dealing with stress, anxiety, depression and more
• Togetherall, Centre for Social Innovation
  • A safe, online community where people support each other anonymously to improve mental health and wellbeing.
• Wellness Together Canada, Government of Canada
  • Access mental health and substance use support. Always free, 24/7.
• Youth Mental Health Resource Hub, Jack.org
  • A hub of resources to help you take care of yourself and look out for the people you love during this challenging time.

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Co-parenting during COVID-19

• Help to Separated/Divorced Parents
  • Help for Separated and Divorced Parents – Part 1 – Mar 22 2020
  • Help for Separated and Divorced Parents – Part 2 – Mar 25 2020
• Parents Should Respect Custody Agreements, Ontario Superior Court of Justice
• Ten Steps to Co-parent During COVID-19 – Psychology Today

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Pregnancy, Postpartum and Infant Feeding

• Breastfeeding Help, PPH
• Breastfeeding and COVID-19, Best Start, Health Nexus
• Breastfeeding Matters (your guide to breastfeeding), Best Start
• Childbirth, Pregnancy and Caring for Newborns, PHAC
• Fact Sheet: I am pregnant or breastfeeding. Should I get the COVID-19 vaccine?, Provincial Council for Maternal and Child Health (PCMCH)
• Feeding your Baby: 6 months to 1 year, PPH
• Infant Hearing (testing and hearing milestones), Infant Hearing Program
• Managing Postpartum Depression during COVID-19
• New baby, and you have COVID-19, Pregnancy to Parenting
• Pregnancy and COVID-19, Unicef
• Q & A on Pregnancy, Childbirth and Breastfeeding, WHO
• Using Infant Formula, PPH

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Activities and Learning Opportunities

• Active For Life, Active for Life
• At Home Activity Guide for Birth to Three Years of Age, Zero to Three
• Books, Songs and Rhymes, KidTalk
• Camp Kawartha Activity Resources, Camp Kawartha
• Canadian Canoe Museum From Home, (printables, activities, resources and more)
• Cooking with Kids, Unlock Food
• Executive Function Activities from Infancy to Adolescence, Center on the Developing Child
• Guess the Feeling Game, Daniel Tiger
• How to Deal with Emotions you Feel, Daniel Tiger video
• Learn at Home in Multiple Languages, Ministry of Ontario
• Learning to Play and Playing to Learn, (3 – 5 years of age), Best Start
• Learn with Lego, Children’s Treatment Centre of Chatham-Kent
• Library Activities from Home, Local Libraries
• Nature Activity Ideas by Age, Pathway to Stewardship (please modify ideas for physical distancing)
• PCFC Programs, Peterborough Child and Family Centres
• Read the World, (authors read their books) WHO and Unicef
• Rediscovering Play (podcast), Active for Life
• Sesame Street and Naming Feelings, (YouTube video) Sesame Street
• Science at Home, Science North
• Science at Home, Ontario Science Centre
• Sports Camp (virtual sports activities for all ages), True North Sports Camp
• Stay Active at Home, Participaction
• Storytelling (3 ways to teach kids how to tell stories), The Conversation Canada
• Virtual Tours of Museums, Zoos and Theme Parks
• Virtual Tours from NASA
• Weekly Themed Activities (virtual and/or curbside pickup craft kits), Peterborough Public Library
• YMCA Virtual Gym Class, YMCA
• You’re the Chef, Visual Recipe Collection, PPH
• Your Zoo to You (daily virtual events), Toronto Zoo

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Financial Support for Families

• Budgeting Tips for Families, Parenting for Lifelong Learning
• Budget Planner (online interactive tool), Government of Canada

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Couple/Parent Tips

• Build a Healthy Relationship, Help Guide International
• Dads! Renovate Your Relationship (14 Tools), Dad Central
• Dealing with Uncertainty, Help Guide International
• Healthy Relationship Tips, Red Cross
• Promoting Safe Relationships, PHAC
• Safe Sex and COVID-19, B.C. Centre for Disease Control

About COVID-19

• Coronavirus: A Book for Children, (free download), published by Nosy Crow
• Coronavirus Indigenous Story for Children, (free download), Cree Health
• COVIBOOK, a book for children in many languages, Mindheart
• Everybody Worries (a book for young children)
• My Hero is You, (free storybook for children on COVID-19, in multiple languages)

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*Acronyms
AAP = American Academy of Pediatrics
CAMH = Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
CDC = Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
CHEO = Childrens Hospital of Eastern Ontario
CMHA = Canadian Mental Health Association
CMHO = Children’s Mental Health Ontario
CPS = Canadian Paediatric Society
HSK = The Hospital for Sick Children
LDAO = Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario
PCFC = Peterborough Child & Family Centres
PHAC = Public Health Agency of Canada
PPH = Peterborough Public Health
WHO = World Health Organization