We love our ParentsTogether families—here are our gifts to you!

We’ve all been through a lot this past year—and yet, we’ve been able to accomplish so much together!

  • We launched video projects on Instagram and TikTok, creating communities of nearly 250,000 parents and caregivers (be sure to join us there if you don’t already)!
  • Together, we made the internet safer for all our kids! Thanks to your participation in our campaigns:
    • Snapchat began scanning for and reporting videos of child sexual abuse material (CSAM)
    • Amazon Web Services increased CSAM reporting over 500%
    • Twitter created a new reporting tool for users to report CSAM
    • More people are aware of the dangers of social media, from efforts like bringing the “Instagrinch” to Congress to call for regulation around how the platform harms kids, and families like yours sharing our helpful explainers and scripts for talking to kids.
  • We also all worked together to bring critical support to families in need:
    • We reached 3.5 MILLION people on TikTok with content about the expanded child tax credit and generated over 33,000 petition signatures urging Congress to keep child checks going.
    • Hundreds of thousands of ParentsTogether members signed petitions, sent letters, posted on social media, and made calls to demand their Representatives in Congress provide relief for families struggling right now.
    • Thousands of us took surveys and told our stories, expressing the needs our families had and the policies that would help us.
    • These efforts helped get the American Rescue Plan passed, which included monthly child checks of up to $300 per month. It also gave families another stimulus check, expanded unemployment, and MUCH more!
    • We’re also still making our voices heard with emails, calls, and social sharing in support of getting the Build Back Better Act passed, which will extend much-needed support with funding and programs that will benefit families across the county!

From our family at ParentsTogether to yours, thank you so much for joining us on this journey, learning, laughing, and taking important action to make the world a better place for ALL kids along the way!

To show our appreciation, we’ve put together a collection of fun FREE gifts to say thanks—and introduce some of the folks behind ParentsTogether! We hope these help your family bring a warm close to this year, and look ahead to more connection, fun, and joy to the year ahead.

Simply scroll, or click below to find:

Family journaling pages

Click here to find printable journaling sheets with fun, thought-provoking prompts to guide you and your family through recording all your favorite memories from the past year, as well as thinking ahead to your plans and hopes for the year to come. These make great keepsakes to look back on in the future, too!

Family-friendly playlist

Our ParentsTogether family assembled this playlist of our favorite songs to help you celebrate the new year! Just click “play” and listen while you check out the reasons each team member chose their contribution—from inspiring a fabulous, positive mood to kicking off a family dance party, there’s a song here for every occasion!

And don’t forget to check out which members of our team added each song—and why!—right here.

Questions for kids

We’ve compiled some of our most popular questions for kids, and put them on cards you can keep on hand whenever you want to connect or encourage your kiddo to open up. With categories like creative thinking, mental health prompts, social/emotional development, and Would You Rather, these questions are perfect for dinner conversations, entertaining yourselves during long waits and car rides, checking in after school, or any time!

The “parenting promise”

Our ever-popular “parenting promise” design is ready for display! Just print this PDF out (using cardstock is recommended) and it’s ready to frame or simply hang up on the fridge for a beautiful daily reminder of one of our core parenting values—because we know it’s one of yours, too!

Coupon code

And speaking of our “parenting promise,” you can find that and tons of other designs on all sorts of merch like t-shirts, adorable baby clothes, mugs, totes, and more! All purchases reflect your commitment to great parenting to the world, and support our non-profit so we can keep providing news, info, and activities to help all families thrive. So start filling your cart now—use code THANKS at checkout to receive 15% your entire purchase in our ParentsTogether store through January 31, 2022!

Best kids’ books

It’s always a great time to add to your kid’s library, especially since reading with kids is associated with so many amazing benefits. Our team has assembled a list of our favorites for story time with kids of all ages, featuring many diverse authors and characters and inclusive storylines. Read about our recs below, and see the whole list on Amazon here! (Note that purchases made through our links won’t cost you any extra, but a percentage will go back to support our non-profit—thank you!)

WHOBOOKAGESWHY WE LOVE IT
Ailen, Deputy DirectorHello, Universe
8-12My kids and I loved reading this book together. The story is really exciting (it’s a rescue mission!) and the characters are diverse across several dimensions. It’s also pretty funny.
Pulin, Director of CampaignsSuper Satya Saves the Day
3-10Our son’s name is Satya so of course we had to get this book about a girl with the same name who wants to be brave in her own community!
Mckenna, Digital Content LeadHaroun and the Sea of Stories
8+This is a children’s fantasy novel about a boy on a journey to restore his father’s gift of storytelling. It’s perfect to read together as a family, or for kids with at least a 6th grade reading level to tackle on their own!
Robyn, Director of ContentGood Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Immigrant Women Who Changed the World
6+The short stories, colorful illustrations, and empowering messages make this a great book to read with kids of all ages (and make it pretty easy to allow “Just one more!” at bedtime). This is the third book in the series, and I highly recommend them all!
Bethany, Co-DirectorDory Phantasmagory Series
4+The magical realism in these stories is a delight for kids and parents alike. It reminds me of the Simpsons, in that kids love them, but there’s enough humor and knowing nods to parents to keep us engaged, too.
Emilyanne, Digital Content SpecialistLet’s Find Momo Outdoors!
0-3My niece is a year and a half and absolutely loves this dog themed hide and seek book (her first word was dog). It has beautiful photos with fun hide and seek prompts for kids to find. Each new scene includes the dog, Momo, hiding which is really cute but also household items so little kids can learn new words.
Amanda, Online Safety TeamPower to the Princess: 15 Favorite Fairytales Retold with Girl Power
5-8
Princess culture came hard for our girls when school started again, and I’ve loved reading them these princess stories that feature smart, empowered princesses, most of whom are people of color. The stories also uplift models of queer love, interracial love, platonic friendship instead of romantic love, and self-love.
Deseyre, Operations ManagerBrave. Black. First: 50+ African American Women Who Changed the World
8-12This book tells the stories of more than 50 Black Women who were the first to accomplish a pursuit or they were the first to navigate a new situation (from Serena Williams to Ruby Bridges). As a parent to a young black daughter, it is important to me for her to see that with dedication and ambition…she has the ability to accomplish absolutely anything she sets her mind toward. Most importantly, the excellence she sees in this book is representative of the identities she holds.
PaKou, Digital Advocacy, Growth & Innovation CampaignerA Different Pond
6-8A 2018 Caldecott Honor Book that Kirkus Reviews calls “a must-read for our times,” A Different Pond is an unforgettable story about a simple event – a long-ago fishing trip. As a young boy, Bao and his father awoke early, hours before his father’s long workday began, to fish on the shores of a small pond in Minneapolis. Unlike many other anglers, Bao and his father fished for food, not recreation. A successful catch meant a fed family. Between hope-filled casts, Bao’s father told him about a different pond in their homeland of Vietnam.
Shelby, Campaign DirectorYoung, Gifted, and Black
8+With a title that references the late Lorraine Hansberry’s phrase “young, gifted and black,” this exuberant collected biography is one readers won’t want to miss. Students are invited to explore one and two-page vignettes of 52 compelling figures in Black culture worldwide. Each profile recounts their beginnings and marvelous feats as scientists, writers, athletes, artists, or activists, both past and present.

Need more book ideas? Check out our other handy book lists:

And speaking of books…

Get your free copy—mailed to you!— of Parent Nation: Unlocking Every Child’s Potential, Fulfilling Society’s Promise

You’re a big part of our efforts to build the world our children deserve, so we know you’ll love this book!

Through our partnership with the TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health, we’re excited to offer a limited-time opportunity to receive a free copy of Dr. Dana Suskind’s new book, “Parent Nation: Unlocking Every Child’s Potential, Fulfilling Society’s Promise” – which will hit the bookshelves in April 2022!  All books are generously provided by Hearing First, an educational endeavor of the Oberkotter Foundation.

Get your FREE copy, while supplies last—available to the first 1,000 ParentsTogether members who click here to have it mailed to them (U.S. addresses only) by January 15, 2022!

Thanks again so much for being here with us throughout the year! Please reach out to us via email at [email protected] or DM us on Instagram @parentstogether if you have questions or suggestions for content that would be helpful for your family. And please consider making a donation to our organization if you’re able. We’re all in this together—and we’re so grateful that you’re here. Happy new year!