by Danielle Ziegler

Although the Ames Public Library Youth Services department offers many books, storytimes, and activities for the younger crowd, we don’t want to forget about parents and guardians! Adults are welcome to use the youth department, whether getting great books for the young people in their lives or themselves. (But don’t forget that we also have an amazing Adult Services department!)

Parents and guardians should check out the Parenting Collection, located at the South side of the Library’s youth department. This small collection focuses on books to aide in parenting and caregiving. We have copies of the hottest and most informative books here, but we often have copies in the Adult Collection as well. “Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be” by Dr. Rebecca Kennedy has been very popular lately.  Another new one that looks interesting is “Parenting Anxious Kids” by Regine Galanti.

The Parenting Collection is also where we keep bibliotherapy books, which are picture books for adults to use with children when explaining hard or changing situations. A good example of these books is “Something Very Sad Happened: A Toddler’s Guide to Understanding Death” by Bonnie Zucker, which I used with my young children when my grandmother passed away. Another example, about a happier topic, is “Getting a New Baby” by Jeri Cipriano.

Along with books for parents and guardians, the youth department sometimes plans programs that are meant for parents and other adults. This year, we have a three-month series of educational parenting programs featuring different experts on parenting education topics. All sessions will be on Thursday evenings.

We started on March 14^th with “Parenting and Children’s Mental Health.” Our next session will be on April 11^th. This educational session will be a panel about kids, families, and intellectual freedom.  The last session on May 9^th will be a partnership with ISU Extension. They will present “The Science of Parenting: Understanding Temperament.” This will focus on how each child’s traits can affect how they need to be parented.

As you can see, we’re dedicated to helping parents and caregivers along with the children they love. All ages are welcome in the Library’s youth department!