Parent Resources

Dealing with Divorce

• Top 10 list of things parents can do to help their children adjust to family change.
• Locate a therapist.
• YWCA Divorce Discussion group

Your Young Child's Brain

Did you know when a child is born, the child's brain structure is only 40% developed? Over the first three years of a baby's life, a child's experiences directly influence how the brain develops, with about 85% of core brain structures established by age three, setting the foundation for future functioning.* Learn more about what you can do to ensure your child gets off to a healthy start.

Developing a Parenting Plan

Parents who are resolving custody and parenting time (visitation) issues in court are referred to mediation to work out a parenting plan. The parenting plan sets out the child's schedule with each parent, and specifies how decisions about the child will be made. Learn more.

Parenting Classes

A free class offered through Family Building Blocks, "Make Parenting a Pleasure", focused on children age zero to three is available to parents who have filed a domestic relations proceeding in the Marion County Circuit Court. For more information about parenting classes in your community, read the YWCA's What's Happening: Resources for Families in Salem and visit our parent education page.

A free parent support group is also offered through the YWCA. No preregistration is required and childcare is free.

*B.D. Perry, How Nuture Becomes Nature: The Influence of Social Structures on Brain Development.