Beckie Mostello joins Face File this week as part of our new Guest Blogger series. You can follow Beckie on Twitter and read more on her insightful blog Tech Talk for Moms. Welcome, Beckie!

Education is one of the many concerns facing parents today

Daily life as a parent is full of concerns – sometimes one concern right and after the next. Lately, a few of my big concerns have to do with the health, safety and education of my children. Many times, I talk with other parents or professionals in the community and others I like to research online for help.

My biggest concern of late has to do with the health of my children. The H1N1 virus seems to have gotten too close for comfort lately. My children have been immunized for the flu and I would like to have them immunized for the H1N1, but I had some concerns about the shot. I found some very helpful information on Mile High Mamas. There is a blog post written by, Dr. Keren Call, pediatrician and board member of the Colorado Children’s Immunization Coalition. In her post, Questions and Answers for Moms about H1N1, Dr. Call answered some very specific concerns around the H1N1 virus. I do have to say after reading the information, she helped me make an informed decision about whether or not I would immunize my children for H1N1.

Safety is always a major concern. My son is a very busy toddler and sometimes, as toddlers do, he does not exactly make the best choices nor does her have the brain development to make those choices. A website I like to use for questions I have about his safety is About.com’s parenting section. On this site, there are all kinds of resources to help me along the way. The website also includes some great reminders of things I should be doing to ensure his safety. It can be frustrating and tiring at times to keep an active boy safe!

My daughter recently started first grade, opening a whole can of worms when it comes to concerns about her education. As a past teacher, I know there are specific things children should be learning and mastering at certain grade levels. The first place I like to go with concerns about my child’s education is her teacher. I know how valuable the parent-teacher relationship can be for a child’s education. Another resource I use to learn about what my first grader should be learning is my state’s department of education website. On the site I can look at the state standards for my child’s grade level. This way I know what is expected and how I can as a parent support my child’s education.

So to sum it up, life as a parent does has concerns that come in all shapes and sizes. I believe the best thing to do is to learn how to use the many resources available to help work your way through the concerns of parenting.

What are you top concerns as a parent? What resources do you use to help ease your concerns? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!