4Cs, founded in 1972, is a nonprofit agency serving the families of San Mateo County in three service areas: Quality Child Care and Preschool, Family Support and Health, and Child Development.

Agent Au Pair is an approved sponsor organization for the Department of State au pair program. The company provides au pairs from over 40 countries in Europe, Asia, and South America who are chosen for their passion to take a year off to satisfy their desire for an overseas experience and care for children. The company's directors have over 10 years of experience running cultural exchange programs including interviewing, screening and selecting au pairs.

AmaraMoms is a unique website for parents of Indian origin living in the United States. the group offers resources and ideas on issues pertinent to parents, and encourages information exchange and dialog, to build a "virtual"
village.

Babies2Sleep helps parents develop the tools they need to improve their babies' sleep. The company designs a custom sleep plan for families and also offers sleep seminars.

BANANAS Inc provides parents with free child care referrals to a wide array of child care options, from an occasional babysitter to a full-time nanny, licensed family child care provider, or child care center.

BANANAS also helps parents hook up with other parents to form a nanny share or a parent co-op. And it offers free parenting workshops on an ongoing basis.

Call for practical handouts on topics that range from "How to hire an in-house child care provider" to "What children
need in child care."

The motto of Bay Area 2nd Mom is to "provide care when you can't be there." As such, it serves as a referral agency for nannies, babysitters, personal assistance, and housekeeping. Clients include single families, as well as hotel guests, and corporate employees.

What it offers is security: Every applicant is screened and offered professional training, if necessary. All pre-screened candidates are experienced, and English speaking or bi-lingual. Screening includes extensive background checks, including DMV printouts, checking references, Social Security traces, fingerprints, and two criminal background checks.

The well-developed Web site allows you to register online for whatever it is you want - be it a long-term Nanny or someone who needs only four hours notice.

The motto of Bay Area 2nd Mom is to "provide care when you can't be there." As such, it serves as a referral agency for nannies, babysitters, personal assistance, and housekeeping. Clients include single families, as well as hotel guests, and corporate employees.

What it offers is security: Every applicant is screened and offered professional training, if necessary. All pre-screened candidates are experienced, and English speaking or bi-lingual. Screening includes extensive background checks, including DMV printouts, checking references, Social Security traces, fingerprints, and two criminal background checks.

The well-developed Web site allows you to register online for whatever it is you want - be it a long-term Nanny or someone who needs only four hours notice.

An example of a community site at its best, this online resource is rich with the wit and wisdom of parents who live in the East Bay. Many are also connected through the University of California at Berkeley mailing list.

With this site, you've got immediate access to local parents' collective experience. You'll find advice and recommendations on rental housing, childcare, teenagers, how to find a good pediatrician, what to pay a babysitter, the best and worst about area schools, and so on. A great resource.

The YMCA in downtown Berkeley offers three pools, a state-of-the-art fitness center, and comprehensive youth, teen, senior and adult programs. The center is known for solid, affordable, family-based recreation programs, afterschool activities, sports leagues, and summer camps. Hundreds of classes are offered ranging from dance, gymnastics, swimming, and basketball to yoga, kick-boxing and lifeguarding certification.

The center also has a kindergym - an indoor
playground with a bounce house, ball pit, and climbing structures.

For Kids Night Out, contact 510.665.3241.

Bernal Yoga is a small, cozy studio in the heart of Bernal Heights.

Mom and Baby Yoga at Bernal Yoga offers a warm, caring, and fun class geared towards helping moms bond with their babies, restore their bodies, and share the joys and challenges of mothering. The class is supportive of the needs of the early postpartum months including asanas for aching shoulders, necks, and backs; rebuilding core abdominal strength; and enriching the connection between mother and baby.

CPR Family teaches an on-location two-hour in-home or group infant/child CPR, choke-saving and safety class designed for nannies and new parents. Classes taught in homes in San Francisco or Marin.

The Club welcomes moms with children ages 0 - 5 living in The Daly City Mom's Club welcomes moms with children ages birth to five years living in Daly City and surrounding cities, including San Francisco, San Bruno, and South San Francisco. The schedule of activities for moms and kids is intended to provide support, friendship, and education.

The DCMC not only focuses on families by hosting playgroups and holiday events, it also offers fun for parents alone. You can expect monthly General Meetings with educational speakers and interesting topics, as well as an occasional Mom's Night Out.

DayOne is a resource center for new and expectant parents in Laurel Village. DayOne provides prenatal and new parenting classes, workshops, new parent groups, and one-on-one lactation consultations with registered nurses.

It also offers a comfortable place to meet other new and expectant parents, and a place to feed, change, and weigh babies. DayOne also offers the Bay Area's largest selection of nursing bras with free custom fittings. Visitors can get advice on breastfeeding, take a breastpump or breastfeeding class, and rent or buy a breast pump.

DayOne has a second location in Town & Country Village in Palo Alto, which also includes Mom & Baby Yoga.

DoubleTalk provides educational workshops for mothers and their twins through one year of age. The company also provides private consultations on multiples-related matters and sleep issues for families with children (twins or not!) up through three years old.

Family Life Advising provides support for individuals and couples who want to improve family relationships, make decisions about family matters, and build a more positive family life. The focus is on such topics as: marriage and partnerships, preparing for birth, parenting, children's well-being (behavior, discipline, siblings, physical and emotional health), and work/life balance.

Free A to Z internet resource for expecting and new mothers in San Francisco, including playgroups and chats at Mother's corner; healthy recipes; a jobs for new moms forum;
baby items exchange; bilingual club; childcare and childbirth professionals bulletin boards; a pregnancy meeting place.

The Community Forums are created to provide support and networking for new mothers by a mother of two and a prenatal/postpartum fitness trainer, actively participating in new parents' community in SF.

What's free in Downtown San Francisco for kids and families? We've got some great children's activities ...

One of the best urban playgrounds is free! Instead of swing sets and rings, The Rooftop Playground has elaborate slides that are as much fun climbing up as tunneling down. There are plenty of climbing structures, a large xylophone, sand pits, and grassy lawns.

Close by the playground, is Yerba Buena Gardens, which hosts countless free concerts, children's shows, and community festivals throughout the year. Between May and October the Gardens Festival presents nearly 100 programs in Yerba Buena Gardens, all free and open to the public. Check the Yerba Buena Gradens Festival website for a calendar of events.

Union Square Park presents an annual free program, Jewels in the Square, of dance and musical events that run from April through October.

Free Museum Days

The Asian Art Museum always offers free admission to children 12 and under. In addition, the museum is open for free to folks of all ages on the first Sunday of every month.

Contemporary Jewish Museum: Youth (18 and under) are always admitted free. Free admission days are offered throughout the year. Check the website for specific dates.

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art: Admission is free the first Tuesday of every month.

Zeum: Free admission days are offered throughout the year. Check the website for specific dates.

If you've discovered some other fun, free places in downtown San Francisco, please add a comment below! We'd also love to hear about free family activities or events!

The winner of our 2008 Parents' Picks quest to find the best Museum for Little Kids in the Bay Area, Habitot is a hands-on learning center in Berkeley that features a toddler garden, where kids can pull wooden carrots out of holes, a padded tunnel that's a blast to crawl through, and a miniature cafe and grocery store, among other delights.

The museum also hosts many special exhibits throughout the year, including a Fire Station display that invited kids to step into the role of a fire fighter, and explore it in the way they know best - by touching, climbing, moving things around, and jumping on it.

Classes: Offers a rich selection of classes for children and parents. Among the kids programs: art, ceramics & clay, drama, science, music, dance & movement, carpentry, and cooking, and infant massage. Classes for parents include CPR Training, Toilet Training, Raising Children in Multiracial Families, and Handling Parent Anger. Free drop-in parent or caregiver support groups meet weekly.

Three different birthday party options are offered: museum rental (up to 40 children, fee is $395 for two and a half hours); birthday room rental (up to 8 children, $16.50 per child with a $99 minimum for one and a half hours); or a private party (up to 30 children, fee is $325 for two hours).

Habitot also hosts week-long seasonal camps in the winter and spring. Every week includes: storytelling, art, music, dance, free play with toys, and dramatic play with costumes and props. Nutritious snacks are also served daily.

Hair Fairies is dedicated to removing head lice safely, effectively, and in a kid-friendly environment. The three step program begins with an evaluation, followed by nit-picking, then an herbal shampoo formulated to damage lice's nervous systems.

In business since 1999, the Fairies have rid thousands of children and families from these persistent parasites.

HowsMyNanny.com is a nanny-reporting service: Parents purchase a license plate for their stroller, and the public is encouraged to anonymously report good or bad nanny observations. Registered parents receive emails alerting them to reports about their particular nanny.

Kids' Turn is a nonprofit organization that was established by a family law court judge who noticed that kids were usually the losers in divorce cases. Kids' Turn was set up to provide a safe, accessible environment for children and help them learn to deal with the difficult situations they face as their family reorganizes.

The group offers support through a series of ongoing six-week 90-minute workshops. Kids and parents attend different workshops, but the aim is the same in both - to give participants the problem-solving skills that can help them cope with the separation. And to give families a safe place to discuss their experiences.

Kids' Turn started in San Francisco in 1988 and has expanded to cover four counties in the Bay Area (San Francisco, Marin, Alameda and Contra Costa). It's now offered in following areas as well: Santa Rosa, Redding, San Diego, Napa, and Yolo County. Chapters are also in Hillsboro, Oregon, and Dayton, Ohio.

Las Madres Neighborhood Playgroups' main purpose is to provide a network of neighborhood playgroups for families with children born in the same year. Through Las Madres playgroups, members find friendship, support, and helpful information, as well as an opportunity for their children to make friends their own age.

Las Madres Neighborhood Playgroups currently covers almost all of Santa Clara County and is run entirely by volunteers who are mothers, fathers, and/or caretakers of young children. While most members are mothers, the group warmly welcomes fathers, grandparents, aunts, and nannies to participate.

Lice Control is a head lice removal salon. In business for over six years, Lice Control uses nontoxic products and a manual technique to remove the parasites. The center provides a fun atmosphere for kids, including Game Boys and kid’s television shows, as well as wireless internet for parents. Services are 100% guaranteed.

Lindamood-Bell is recognized as an effective treatment for learning difficulties, including the symptoms of dyslexia, AD/HD, hyperlexia, and autism.

The center works one-on-one with individuals ages five through adult. Lindamood-Bell offers diagnostic evaluations, individualized treatment programs to address the specific needs of its students, and community education events throughout the year.

Lindamood-Bell is recognized as an effective treatment for learning difficulties, including the symptoms of dyslexia, AD/HD, hyperlexia, and autism.

The center works one-on-one with individuals ages five through adult. Lindamood-Bell offers diagnostic evaluations, individualized treatment programs to address the specific needs of its students, and community education events throughout the year.

Lindamood-Bell is recognized as an effective treatment for learning difficulties, including the symptoms of dyslexia, AD/HD, hyperlexia, and autism.

The center works one-on-one with individuals ages five through adult. Lindamood-Bell offers diagnostic evaluations, individualized treatment programs to address the specific needs of its students, and community education events throughout the year.

Lindamood-Bell is recognized as an effective treatment for learning difficulties, including the symptoms of dyslexia, AD/HD, hyperlexia, and autism.

The center works one-on-one with individuals ages five through adult. Lindamood-Bell offers diagnostic evaluations, individualized treatment programs to address the specific needs of its students, and community education events throughout the year.

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Marin Parents of Multiples (MPOMC) is a club for Marin families with multiples (twins, triplets, etc).

The organization has great resources for expecting parents through infancy to childhood. Social events and monthly general meetings often feature special speakers.

Minding MOM provides Bay area moms with a way to participate in entertainment, intellectual, sport, and fitness activities. Babies/kids are always expected and welcome to come along, whether the event is a film, an Italian class, or a speaker - experienced child care is provided for most of the activities.

The goal is to offer nursing and new mothers a chance to get out of the house and have fun without the hassle and worry of arranging babysitting.

Mocha Moms Inc is a national organization for stay at home moms of color. There are currently five local chapters in the Oakland/San Francisco Bay Area: Diablo Valley, Gilroy, Oakland/East Bay, Solano County and West Contra Costa County.

Mocha Moms offers a support circle and playgroup where Moms meet and converse about everything from the difficulties of nursing to finding time for exercise. The group also hosts moms-only activities like wine tasting or spa days, as well as family activities such as picnics or holiday parties.

To learn more, or to find the chapter nearest you, visit the website.

An accessory that keeps us organized? We're so there.

The ingenuis momAgenda was created by a busy mom (is there any other kind?) who was frazzled by keeping track of her own schedule, along with her four children's appointments, lessons, playdates, and parties. Her solution is a refined day planner that provides a way to track multiple schedules with week-at-a-view spreads with rows for each child and mom, monthly views, and places for notes, dinner ideas, and other necessities. The colors range from all-business chocolate and black to vibrant lime or fuschia.

Take it everywhere, or check out the kitchen folio version for "command central".

Because stay-at-home moms need support, too. This club, a nonsectarian nonprofit with chapters across the United States and the world, offers support and activities to moms at home and a chance for their kids to socialize with others kids.

Goings-on include playgroups, moms' nights out, park days, and other activities, as determined by a chapter's membership. Kids are always welcome at eveything, and all activities (except for the monthly moms' night out) happen during the day.

The club has several chapters in California, including two based in Oakland and West San Francisco.

The Moms Club of San Francisco-West is a nonprofit
organization designed to support mothers and their small children. It offers playgroups, park days, lunches, and other activities every month. The goal is to provide opportunities for stay-at-home moms to socialize with other moms, and give their children a chance to have fun together.

The Mothers' Club was formed to provide a supportive community for parents and their young children. The goal of the Club is to help parents make new friends, support fellow members as parents, and to learn more about what it takes to be a successful Mom or Dad.

The Club is wholly supported by volunteers and requires yearly dues to help fund the club's events, lecture programs, and monthly newsletters. General meetings occur on the second Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Lucie Stern Community Center, Community Room, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. The first meeting is free.

Mothers & More is a non-profit international organization with several Bay Area chapters.

The club's focus is to provide opportunities for moms to meet, support, and advocate for each other t