We are still exploring other websites for appropriate links and will be adding more as we find them but we hope you find the following links useful:

Resources for parents:

Netmums Netmums is a fantastic resource for UK parents for everything to do with children.  It’s a great place to find out about events and activities being held in your own area. The Baby Website thebabywebsite.com is a new site where you can get pregnancy, birth and baby advice, read the latest parenting news, join forums, create Baby Blogs, enter competitions. Meet Dave the Dad....or simply browse ... pregnancy.org From pregnancy to child development, pregnancy.org is a great resource.  Try their pregnancy calendar to find out how your unborn child is developing from day to day. Sheila Kitzinger We used Sheila Kitzinger’s books during both my pregnancies.  Advice you can trust from a passionate and knowledgeable expert.   On the Raising Kids website you’ll find interesting articles and expert advice for parents of children up to age 13+. Talk to your Children Talk to your Children is a division of the UK Literacy Trust. This is a great resource for parents, carers and teachers.  Have a look at the initiatives to see how your child can benefit from national and local projects that you might not have known about. I Can I Can is a registered UK charity dedicated to supporting children with communication disabilities.  Have a look at their Wall of Words. Talking Point for Parents Talking Point for Parents is a division of ican.org providing information on how to support your child’s communication development. This link will take you directly to a guide to stages of language development.

Some wonderful children’s books:

The Elephant and the Butterfly and The Man Who Said Why are our favourites in this beautiful book written with all the enchantment that e.e. cummings brings.    Sophie’s Masterpiece is a lovely tale about a sweet silk-spinner celebrating the pure joy of giving.   The Dancing Tiger is a magical story with dreamy illustrations.   We fondly remember Where the Wild Things Are from our childhood days.  It is still every bit as fun for our children as it was for us.   The lullabies in The Usborne Book of Lullabies are very dreamy and the book is well illustrated with silvery touches on many of the pages.  Our 2 1/2 year old loves to sing along while “reading” the words. The Usborne book and CD combination have really helped her to understand the concept of reading.    The Baby Who Wouldn’t to Bed is the perfect bedtime story to capture a child’s twilight imagination.

Toys and Gifts for Children and Parents:

Early Learning Centre  Early Learning Centre have a fantastic selection of educational toys and gifts for children of all ages. Ideal Present Ideal Present is a unique children’s gift recommendation service that is free to use!  The gifts are hand chosen by real industry experts, not by a computer.  They will help you find the perfect gift for any child. Stylish baby gifts, including newborn baby gift sets, christening gifts and toys. FREE UK DELIVERY is offered if you spend £50.00 or more. Little Impressions Little Impressions is a totally bespoke service creating unique hand crafted three dimensional castings of your child’s hands and feet. Baby Steps Baby Steps, a unique keepsake created by a developmental psychologist, is a wonderful gift for new parents, allowing them to chart their baby’s development for the first year using stickers to mark milestones. Dreamtime Tales: Bedtime Stories For Sweet Dreams children's CD. Everyone will love this enchanting collection of original bedtime stories filled with  imaginative adventures, rhymes, songs and happy endings. Specially designed  to relax youngsters and encourage restful sleep, every story will also help children to advance their listening skills, vocabulary and language  confidence.

Other sites that we like:

Bogg! A very funny and imaginative novel written by Andrew Attias, a very funny, imaginative and wonderful guy. Colin Pink Colin Pink is a very artistic and intelligent writer of plays, novels and short stories. His Minotaur is a brilliant play which gives a new voice to the mythical creature. NASA The Nasa site offers education and fun for the whole family.  Try bookmarking the daily image. UK Wolf Conservation Trust The UK Wolf Trust is a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting wolf conservation to keep wolves in the wild. They have wonderful programmes for children and for those over 12 weekend walks with the wolves. My husband and I went on a wolf walk and it was absolutely wonderful, even in the pouring rain! Wim Wenders This link will take you directly to the English version of the poem Song of Childhood written by Peter Handke that is read so movingly by Bruno Ganz throughout Wim Wenders’ film Wings of Desire. Wildlife Direct Wildlife Direct is a charitable site founded and chaired by the conservationist Dr. Richard Leakey, wherein all funds contributed go directly to the chosen project.  You can read about and see photos and videos of ongoing conservation projects through blogs posted by those directly involved. The Literacy Site The Literacy Site is dedicated to funding free books for children. Visitors to the site simply click on a button to help provide books for needy children.  Visitors pay nothing, as the books are funded by the site sponsors.