Library Collection: Caregivers/Parenting Collection

Battle of the Books are currently on top
but normally that is a display space.

This collection was originally Tough Topics, with titles meant to be read together with kids on death, divorce, puberty, and other issues caregivers would want to introduce themselves. It's adapted and changed over the years, moved several times, and just recently we started including adult books on parenting on loan from the adult nonfiction collection.

I am in the process of weeding and updating our picture book neighborhoods and a lot of previously "parenting" books moved to that area, where I have sections for social issues, social-emotional learning, etc.

Most of the children's titles are purchased from Magination, Albert Whitman, and Free Spirit. Circulation averages around 10-20 each month. I have a spreadsheet of what is currently contained in this collection, but a more comprehensive collection is organized on Pinterest under Helping Books for Growing up and Tough Times.

Currently the headings we use are:

BIRTH (For young children, where babies come from)

BODIES (For slightly older children, pre-puberty information)

DEATH

DIVORCE

FAMILY (foster care, incarceration, adoption, etc.)

ILLNESS (diabetes, asthma, cancer, allergies)

MENTAL (mental health - anxiety, depression, mindfullness)

PUBERTY (for tweens - more teen puberty titles are in the teen area)

SEL (social-emotional learning - mostly chapter books on social skills)

SPECIAL NEEDS (learning disabilities, ADHD, autism, etc. I don't particularly like this heading, but have never found a good alternative)