A Nanny For U offers full-time or temporary nannies, postpartum doulas, housekeepers, and household managers. All candidates are screened.

Anna Cabrera offers postpartum doula services, including support with the physical, emotional, and social needs of families.

Her specialties include infant care, coping with sleep deprivation, assistance with older siblings, breastfeeding skills, general coping skills, and housework and organization. She can also provide referrals for breastfeeding difficulties, signs of postpartum depression, and medical issues.

Baby Boutique provides free children's and maternity items, including clothing, shoes, diapers, toys, and equipment to homeless families. The Boutique serves hundreds of children each year.

Families needing items are referred by DSHS case workers or other social service professionals.

Donations of items in excellent condition are accepted each Tuesday through Friday from 10am-3pm and on the fourth Saturday of each month from 9:30am to 12n. Items needed most urgently include equipment such as strollers, car seats, and cribs, children's clothing in sizes four to seven, shoes, diapers, infant formula, and plus-size maternity clothes. The boutique can always use maternity clothing, nursing gear, bottles, sippy cups, pacifiers, bedding, shoes, coats, bassinets, toys, children's books, and books on parenting.

The college's Early Learning, Family, and Childcare Center offers daycare children ages three months to six years; parenting classes and education; and an on-site Family Resource Specialist who can answer parenting questions.

The new facility features original artwork incorporated into the playground outside, as well as colorful climbing structures.

Although the daycare's slots are reserved for students at BCC and Coscto employees, members of the public can put their names on a waiting list for future openings.

BCC's North Campus offers summer classes for children ages 12 to 17 in subjects including computers, art, languages, PSAT/SAT/WASL preparation, and more. Check the website for details.

Screened babysitters over the age of 25 come to your home or hotel through this convenient greater Seattle area service - just call with your date and time and a sitter will contact you for driving directions. Sitters are also available for weekend getaways, vacations, and group events. Mother's Helpers are also available.

Looking for childcare and need a place to start? Child Care Resources can help. Call the referral line, and tell the specialist what you need - what kind of situation you're looking for, in what neighborhoods, and at what price - and you'll be sent a packet detailing your options.

You can also search the online database. The cost is $40 for six months; register online. Discounts are available to low- and moderately-low income families; call to find out if you qualify.

The website offers tips on choosing childcare and going back to work or school, childcare licensing and complaint information, and good resource links to health and safety information, parenting and special needs, school districts, nanny agencies, and subsidy information.

Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center is an independent, private, not-for-profit regional pediatric center, and has been recognized as one of the top three children's hospitals in the country by Child Magazine.

The Family Resource Center (FRC) is located on the 5th floor near the train elevators, and provides information and support for patient families, including an extensive collection of books, pamphlets, and reference materials. It also provides a place for families to have a quiet moment away from the bedside. Unique services and facilities include parent massage, vending area with free coffee and hot beverages, computer workstations for email and internet access, laundry and parent sleeping rooms for intensive care parents. Open daily; call main hospital number for hours.

The Children's Resource Line offers nurse consultation and information on a wide variety of health topics, including family and parenting issues and special needs children. This information can also be obtained online. [206.987.2500; 866.987.2500].

Children's also offers a changing roster of classes for youth and parents on topics such as potty training, growing up for boys and girls, siblings, infant & child CPR, babysitting, baby sign, and more. Good Growing, a quarterly newsletter that lists class information, and my Good Growing is the electronic version. Information about both newsletters is available online.

The Children's Resource Line, sponsored by Children's Hospital, offers free, confidential nurse consultation. Call the number to speak with a nurse who can answer questions about your child's health, teen issues, or finding a doctor.

Information about child health topics can also be obtained by phone (call 206.987.2500 or 206.987.2201) or online 24 hours a day. Click on the link and go to Child Health & Safety, then click on Health & Safety Resources or Child Health Advice. Search for information by topic, and find out what to do next.

Children's website also offers information on parenting and family issues, special needs children (including a summer camp directory and community resource directory), and parenting classes.

The CoMamas Program offers help for moms and stepmoms to learn how to co-parent in a healthy and respectful way. Six-week informational support groups are led by a licensed therapist and trained CoMamas facilitator.

The full-service freestanding birth center is staffed by Licensed Midwives and Certified Nurse Midwives, and also offers support and education for parents and parents-to-be.

Support groups include Beyond the Baby Blues for mothers with postpartum depression (meets second and fourth Fridays, 10am-11:30am); First Weeks, a class for new parents and their babies that covers breastfeeding, sleeping patterns, and other issues (meets Tue, Wed & Thu, 12n-2pm); and chapter meetings of The International Cesarean Awareness Network, Inc. (ICAN), a group that works to lower the cesarean rate. Walk-ins and babies are welcome at this support and education group. (Meets 2nd Tue; call 425.489.8481 or 206.721.1806 for more information.)

The Eastside Mothers Club (EMC) is a local non-profit organization, dedicated to supporting and enriching the lives of at-home mothers, and their children and families.

EMC is open to all moms regardless of where they live. Field trips are conducted all over the Eastside (some in Seattle). Activities promote family togetherness and provide opportunities for parents to participate with their children. Playgroups meet once a week at members' homes. Special Thursday activities include speakers on topics of interest to the group, coffee socials, and craft activities. Monthly evening activities are offered just for moms - such as Book Club, Mom's Night Out, Craft Club, and Bunko.

Eastside Mothers of Multiples offers support to families with twins, triplets, or more with a membership base ranging from Marysville to Tacoma. First year EMOMS family meetings are held in Kirkland and general membership meetings are held in Bellevue.

Eric Candell is a psychotherapist and Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) who provides individual therapy, couples counseling, and group and family therapy.

Family therapy sessions focus on identifying the origins, functions, and effects of harmful behaviors and learning to develop positive alternative behaviors.

His website offers a wealth of helpful information about choosing a therapist, how therapy works, and other related topics.

Call here to talk to a volunteer phone counselor about parenting issues from coping with a fractious toddler to runaway teens. Phone counselors are trained in non-judgmental listening and can give community referrals and send out parenting information. The line is free and confidential.

Call here, too, to reach the Parent Info Line. It maintains information about Parent Trust for Washington Children, the non-profit organization that runs the Help Line; recorded parenting tips; and information on family resources in all of Washington's 39 counties.

FamilyWorks offers a variety of family-support services: drop-in playgroups, parent support groups, after-school tutoring for students in grade one-five, and a variety of other activities like family cooking classes, family activity times, and special events.

A food bank serving residents of the 98103, 98107, 98115, and 98133 zip codes is also located at FamilyWorks. Hours: Tue, Fri 11am-1pm; Thu 2pm-5pm.

What's free for kids and families in downtown Seattle, Pioneer Square, and the International District?

Downtown visitors can take a free ride between 6am and 7pm on any Metro Transit bus in Metro's Ride Free Area, which extends from Sixth Avenue to the waterfront and from Battery Street to S Jackson Street. Bus bike racks are not in use in the Ride Free Area during Ride Free hours.

The Seattle Art Museum offers free admission all day long on the first Thursday of each month and teens (ages 13 to 19) get in free from 5pm to 9pm on the second Friday each month. These evenings usually include live performances and art activities for teens. Even kids who aren't interested in visiting the galleries are likely to enjoy passing by the museum to check out the giant Hammering Man sculpture outside.

It's always free to visit Olympic Sculpture Park and free monthly workshops allow kids ages 12 and under to explore the park, learn about art, and create projects to take home. These workshops require advance registration; check our calendar or the Seattle Art Museum website for details.

A free lunchtime concert series is held year-round at Seattle City Hall, with performances in genres ranging from blues to pop to opera.

Westlake Park, in the heart of downtown, features a nice fountain, free wi-fi (login using seattlewifi as the SSID), prime people watching, and street performers of all kinds. Free concerts are held in the park during the summer.

No trip downtown is complete without a visit to the enormous and colorful Seattle Central Library. The children's area includes a good selection of toys for both younger and older children, lots of computers stocked with educational games, and, of course, plenty of books. Ongoing events at the Central Library include toddler storytimes on Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:30am and a preschool storytime on Thursdays at 10:30am.

The International District/Chinatown Branch offers homework help for kids each Monday through Thursday during the school year from 4pm-7pm. A preschool storytime is held each Thursday at 10:30am, followed by a Mandarin Chinese storytime at 11am.

The Wing Luke Asian Museum offers free admission on the first Thursday and third Saturday of each month. Free Family Day programs with art workshops and other activities are also held on the third Saturday of each month.

Admission is free at the Klondike Gold Rush Unit, which features interactive exhibits that bring visitors back in time to the gold fields in the late 19th century. There aren't many programs scheduled during the school year, but kids' activities are sometimes offered during the summer.

Know of more free stuff, events, and activities for kids and families around downtown Seattle? Add a comment below and we'll get right on it!

What's free in Queen Anne and South Lake Union for kids and families?

Most of the attractions at the Seattle Center are on the pricey side, but the International Fountain is always a blast for kids, even in cooler weather, with its dramatic sprays flying high into the air, accompanied by music from around the world. The Center also hosts free cultural festivals throughout the year and free or inexpensive activities during its Winterfest celebration. Keep an eye on our calendar for details.

The Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum offers free admission from 5pm to 8pm on the first Thursday of each month.

A few blocks north of the Seattle Center, in the Uptown area of Lower Queen Anne, a small public garden on the grounds of St. Paul's Episcopal Church features a fountain and a stained concrete labyrinth that offers an intriguing challenge to younger kids.

Head up The Counterbalance for a visit to Blue Highway Games, which offers tables and a selection of games that visitors can sample. Free games nights are held each Saturday from 7pm to 11pm and Mah Jong night is held on the last Wednesday of each month at 6pm (advance registration is required). Check the website for other free special events.

Also on top of the hill, Urban Kids Play frequently hosts free events for kids ages six and under, including storytimes with Moonpaper Tent each Thursday at 10:30am and a free yoga class for ages two to six on the second Wednesday of each month at 1:30pm (call the store to RSVP).

Queen Anne Books hosts a free storytime at 2pm on the third Sunday of each month (check the website for exceptions).

Two nice playgrounds are located within two blocks of the shopping district on Queen Anne Avenue, including East Queen Anne Playground, which features a sports field where families can catch kids' soccer and basketball games, a wading pool, and a half basketball court. West Queen Anne Playfield is a larger park that has big grassy fields and a new playground.

The Queen Anne Branch of the Seattle Public Library holds a toddler storytime each Thursday at 10:30am and a Pajama Storytime on Mondays at 7:45pm.

At the bottom of the hill at the south end of Lake Union, families can visit the free museum at the Center for Wooden Boats. The center also offers Free Public Sails each Sunday (call to check for exceptions) and canoe carving on Sundays from 1pm to 4pm.

Another great outdoor offering is a free treasure hunting game called Geocaching. Geocaches are hidden containers that can be found using coordinates and a GPS unit. If you choose to remove a "treasure" (stickers, toy cars, postcards, pencils, crayons, bubbles, etc.) from the cache, be sure to leave an item to replace it - all of those kids' meal toys laying around the house make great treasures for the cache.

Know of more free stuff, events, and activities for kids and families around Queen Anne? Add a comment below and we'll get right on it!

Named for comedienne Gilda Radner, Gilda's Club provides a variety of programs for people with cancer and their families. Services include weekly support groups, classes, lectures, workshops, and social activities. Membership is free; call to sign up for an orientation.

The summer Camp Sparkle! program serves children ages five to 18 who have been touched by cancer. Camps are free and features arts and crafts, games, workshops, and field trips. Lunch and snacks are provided. A day camp is offered for children ages five and up and an overnight camp session is held for children ages eight and up. Membership at Gilda's Club is required for camp registration. Membership is free; contact Aimee Cruver at 206.709.1400 or by email for more information.

Gracewinds Perinatal Services offers birth- and family-related services to women and families.

Services include childbirth classes, prenatal yoga, postpartum conditioning, lactation consulting, breast pump rental, massage, labor and postpartum doulas, chiropractic and acupuncture, nutrition counseling, perinatal counseling, siblings classes, infant massage, infant CPR, and Footsteps new moms groups.

Footsteps is a group where new mothers can drop by and share information with other new moms. The groups form continuously and are facilitated by a childbirth educator with an MA, LMP, and five kids.

Parents and parents-to-be can find a wealth of information at Great Starts. The non-profit organization offers classes on pregnancy, birth, newborn care, breastfeeding, infant safety and CPR and more. One-on-one consultations are also available.

All students are welcome at all locations. Group Health membership is not required.

Parents and parents-to-be can find a wealth of information at Great Starts. The non-profit organization offers classes on pregnancy, birth, newborn care, breastfeeding, infant safety and CPR and more. One-on-one consultations are also available.

All students are welcome at all locations. Group Health membership is not required.

Parents and parents-to-be can find a wealth of information at Great Starts. The non-profit organization offers classes on pregnancy, birth, newborn care, breastfeeding, infant safety and CPR and more. One-on-one consultations are also available.

All students are welcome at all locations. Group Health membership is not required.

Parents and parents-to-be can find a wealth of information at Great Starts. The non-profit organization offers classes on pregnancy, birth, newborn care, breastfeeding, infant safety and CPR and more. One-on-one consultations are also available.

All students are welcome at all locations. Group Health membership is not required.

Parents and parents-to-be can find a wealth of information at Great Starts. The non-profit organization offers classes on pregnancy, birth, newborn care, breastfeeding, infant safety and CPR and more. One-on-one consultations are also available.

All students are welcome at all locations. Group Health membership is not required.

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.

The La Leche League is a nonsectarian nonprofit organization with chapters across the United States and the world. Expectant and breastfeeding mothers and their babies can visit weekly support groups, search online for information related to a given topic, or call one of the League's hotlines to speak with someone.

In King County, there are many chapters to choose from; click on the link to find a chapter near you.

Lake Washington Parent/Toddler Group is a non-profit parent education cooperative program sponsored by Lake Washington Technical College. LWTG serves parents of children ages six to 39 months. Classes involve full parent participation and include parent education, art, snack time, playtime and other activities. LWTG sponsors a preschool night in January and a Spring Carnival. They also offer evening educational seminars for parents.

Laura Doerflinger, MS, LMHC, a former crisis counselor for troubled families, offers counseling for families on balancing and prioritizing their daily lives. Mrs. Doerflinger counsels children, teens, parents, and families - and she makes house calls.

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.

Model Family Mentorship Program is a non-profit organization which works to strengthen over 135 low income and disadvantaged families throughout Seattle, Tacoma, and Spokane County. The program offers family resource services, family and child literacy projects, computer technology awareness projects, family goal building programs, educational book scholarships, and a unique "family to family" mentoring program.

Model Family hosts Seattle's annual Family KiteFest.

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 everything, and all activities (except for the monthly moms' night out) happen during the day.

The club has several chapters in Washington State, including those based in Northwest Seattle and Northeast Seattle.

MOMS Club of Kirkland is a local chapter of MOMS Club International, a non-profit, non-religious, charitable organization that supports moms and their families. The club offers activities, playgroups, networking, and opportunities for friendships. Most activities take place during the day when moms need support the most.

A local chapter of the MOMS Club International.

Lots of fun weekday activities including playgroups and Moms' Night Out.