The ones I knew about from 10 years ago or so were bulletin boards for moms who were pregnant about the same time. Some of the newer parenting sites are geographic based. Much of the discussion focuses on little-one parenting issues such as how to calm a teething baby and kid-friendly craft projects,  so I’m a bit out of that demographic. My daughter is 20 years old!

But I’ve also found frugal living chatter taking place on those boards and sites, so I do check them out from time to time.

Here are some of the Ohio and Michigan parent and family forums I know about:

• ToledoAreaMommies.com - This is a free networking site that is just getting started. The geographic area for ToledoAreaMommies includes the following cities in Michigan: Monroe, LaSalle, Temperance, Ida, Luna Pier, Erie, Lambertville, Samaria, and Ottawa Lake.
• Mom2Mom List - I’ve linked to this site many times. It’s a database of Mom2Mom second-hand sales in the metro Detroit area, and their geographic range does include Monroe. There’s also some chatter and articles beyond the sale lists.
• Detroit Moms Like Me - This is part of a network of Moms Like Me sites hosted by the Gannett newspaper chain. I’ve posted in some of the bulletin boards. Kris hosts the Bargainista forum on that site.
• Lansing Moms Like Me - Another one in that network.
• Columbus Moms Like Me - Even though it’s tagged Columbus / central Ohio, this site in the network includes some northwest Ohio cities.
• Parenting forum on MonroeTalks - The MonroeTalks site is the social networking site hosted by The Monroe Evening News in Monroe, Mich. I am one of the moderators on that site.

Of course, there also are many, many parenting blogs. But that will be a post for another time.

A snippet:

It’s tempting to dismiss the suffering of children who are pretty wealthy compared to those whose parents were barely surviving on minimum wage and then get laid off. But when wealthy children, even middle class children, have been shielded their whole lives from trauma and sacrifice, as much of this generation has, the recession can cause serious angst. …

That’s why it’s so important for parents and caregivers to offer comfort and stability amid the turmoil. That doesn’t mean hiding the truth from kids, but it does mean dispensing information thoughtfully and finding a way to release stress before walking through the door at the end of a rough day.

Don’t do it.

I’m speaking from experience. I was divorced / single mom from the time my daughter was a year old until she was almost 5. Yes, that’s the prime age for temper tantrums in the shopping cart. Yes, I was working full-time and had no other adult in the home to take over.

I still very, very rarely took the toddler with me grocery shopping.

She didn’t know what she was missing.

I scheduled errands on the occasions when she was at her dad’s house. I would leave the girl with my parents or siblings for an hour. I would do a quick errand during my lunch break.

My biggest trick is that since my work schedule at the time was 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., I scheduled the sitter until 4 p.m. That gave me a bit of wiggle room for a quick grocery run, bank errand or stop at the post office. … or just the reality that a newspaper reporter’s day was known to run late.

I’m not the only single parent who found a resourceful way to deal with kids and grocery shopping. Some time ago, I did an interview with someone who had been a single dad years ago, when single parenting was not as common. One of the stories related to me is that when the son was in junior high school, dad would do the grocery shopping in the morning while the son was still asleep!

But if you are convinced that you can’t find a workaround to taking the kids with you to the supermarket and big box stores, Coupon Sherpa has this post 5 Tips for Shopping With Children.

And here is the best tip:

Don’t be afraid to leave the store. In a perfect world, you could tote your screaming kid down the aisles, ignoring him until he stops. At home you’d probably put him in his room until he chooses to quit throwing a fit. But you are in public, comrade. There’s an entirely different dynamic at the store. Don’t rope innocent bystanders into your family drama. Apologize profusely to customer service for your unpaid cart and get that kid home. They’ll secretly thank you for it anyway.

I don’t remember at what point she stopped believing in Santa. I do remember that it was a relatively untraumatic situation as compared to what some other families experience.

What did we do right?

I can tell you it wasn’t planned, but that’s just what happened.

My daughter never really got a lot of gifts from Santa. By the time she was old enough to grasp that Christmas meant gifts, I was divorced and single. Gifts from the relatives came from the relatives. While there were gifts to open under our tree on Christmas morning, the number of those packages was relatively few. Therefore, she learned as a preschooler not to expect to see a big pile of gifts all at one time.

Even after I got remarried, the most my husband and I ever spent on the daughter at Christmas was about $100.

I’m pretty sure that’s why, in my home, the Santa myth never got out of control.

It’s one thing to teach children that Santa brings gifts. (You can apply this concept as needed to Christmas friends in other cultures such as St. Nicholas, La Befana, the Christ Child or the Three Kings)

But it’s another thing entirely to teach children that Santa brings LOTS OF GIFTS.

If you decide to create that monster, there will certainly be at least one year during your children’s youth when you cannot meet that expectation. The resulting anger and disappointment (or attempts to avoid it) is sure to make for a stressful Christmas.

How can you gracefully deal with the Santa myth?

• Decide before your oldest child turns 2 years old how Santa or his colleagues will be part of your family Christmas tradition – or not. Keep in mind that babies and toddlers have no clue what’s going on at Christmas. Many of them are downright afraid of a funny-looking guy in a red suit anyway. Since the modern version of the Santa story is so drastically different from its origins with the tales of St. Nicholas the bishop, Christian families can find good reasons to include Santa or not, as they see fit. Besides, there are non-Christians who enjoy the Santa stories too. But those of you who are parents need to make the Santa decision early in childhood, and quite likely you will need to explain your approach in advance of Christmas to the extended family.
• Label only some of the gifts as from Santa. My family’s custom has been that St. Nicholas brought some candy and treats and maybe one present on Dec. 6, while Santa filled the stockings on Christmas Eve. The bigger gifts were usually labeled from parents or grandparents. Why? That’s just what we did. But it was a smart move in the long run: Santa was part of the ensemble. He wasn’t the only one handing out gifts.
• Don’t label Christmas as “just for kids.” Many times, the child will start wondering about Santa long before the parents realize it. Classmates, cousins and friends tend to talk to other kids when they know who is really behind the Santa stories. If Santa brings presents only for children, but not for adults, in your family, what do you expect the children to think and say when they really should be old enough to know better?
• Help your child be Santa for someone else. If you can afford it, find one of the toy, gift and food basket donation drives that are taking place and involve your children in making a cash or toy donation toward the cause. You can also help the children make gifts for other relatives or to deliver to a nursing home.
• Focus your family’s attention on other traditions. There is so much more to Christmas than Santa bringing presents. You can fill your family’s Christmas memories book with attending a production of “The Messiah,” portraying shepherds and angels for a church pageant, lighting an Advent wreath, attending Midnight Mass, serving a Polish seafood feast on Christmas Eve, hosting a house blessing on Three Kings Day, watching a live production of “The Nutcracker” or “The Christmas Carol” or “Annie”, checking out the Toledo Zoo’s Lights Before Christmas, picking out your own Christmas tree at the farm, learning how to make Grandma’s fruitcake and interviewing the older relatives about what Christmas was like back in their day.

There will certainly be a bit of fun gone when the Santa myth is broken, no matter the child’s age.

But if parents set the tone early with Santa being just a part, instead of the main focus, at Christmas, the realization of who’s really bringing those gifts won’t be quite so traumatic.

And when you are a family on a budget, you don’t need a lot of additional stress at Christmas.

Update: sorry, but I had to shut off the comment board on this post because of repeated spam attacks.

A snippet:

Instead of money, the network uses a point system to exchange and track the times a person provides babysitting or uses a babysitter. Every 15 minutes is worth one point and one hour tallies four points A person earns points when babysitting someone else’s children. A person spends points when someone babysits for them.

Sheena Terry, who got the co-op started, has set up both a Monroe group and a Toledo group.

I can’t direct link to the story but you can download Monroe County Parent in pdf format here. Free copies also are available at The Monroe Evening News office and many other locations in the Monroe, Mich., area.

But it can be a little bit complicated to arrange for such thing for one’s child, as I learned a few years ago when a particular seasonal flu strain in circulation was known to hit the younger people. I thought it was prudent to get my daughter vaccinated against that virus, but didn’t know where to get her shot done.

Answer: The Monroe County Health department announced some flu shot clinics just for kids. I took my daughter and we stood in line with other families to get the job done.

There’s no word yet on H1N1 flu vaccinations. But if you would like your child vaccinated against the 2009-2010 seasonal flu, that service is now available in Monroe, Mich. And it will cost only $10 for the kids’ shots, as compared to the $25 that adults typically pay.

Here’s the article in today’s Monroe Evening News explaining the details.

WIC is an income-based program, but more specifically, it is aimed at a certain demographic: “low-income pregnant and breastfeeding women, women who recently had a baby, infants and children up to 5 years old,” according to Michigan.gov.

With this program, you get help with your grocery bill on specific eligible items.

Here is the WIC income chart for Michigan residents. It’s pretty generous. You don’t have to be food stamp family to participate. A better comparison is whether your family would be eligible for reduced-price school lunches.

State officials report one out of every two babies born in Michigan receives WIC benefits.

Now, the traditional WIC selections such as milk, cheese, juice, infant formula and peanut butter are among those that can eat quite a bit into family funds.

But as one local mother told me a few months ago, the list was kind of limiting for those who are on medical restrictions or otherwise would eat only some of the allocation.

There are more options now for food choices. If you have been eligible, but didn’t see much benefit from participating, take another look.

Here are some of the media reports:

• National Public Radio’s Marketplace: Food makers hungry to change.
• Tampa Tribune: Program’s changes to help moms make healthier choices.
• KNBN-TV via MSNBC: Nutritional changes in the WIC program.

The agency that handles WIC for my local readers in Monroe County, Mich., is the Monroe County Health Department at (734) 240-7905.

Keep in mind that grocery costs are one of the easiest family budget categories in which to cut out-of-pocket expenses whether you seek formal assistance, aim your cost-saving efforts in the marketplace, or both. By cutting your grocery expenses, you’ll free up cash that can go toward another expense that you may not be able to get help with.

Now the buzz is: What does this mean for garage sale sellers and buyers, especially when it comes to kids’ stuff?

While I don’t have the answers, I can point you to the discussions.

Here is the Fox News report that’s getting chatter on the Frugal Village Forums.

Here is the Resellers and Resale / Thrift Shop and Yard Sale Information Center at CSPC that includes a section where you can check for recalls.

And my co-worker Charles Slat focuses on recalls and other consumer issues on his blog, Consumer Alert!

Now, here is something to consider: some stuff I see at garage sales and yard sales has no business being resold in the first place. It needs to go in the trash. There does come a point when stuff is no longer useful – and a lot of toys in particular are lucky to survive just one owner.

If you feel guilty about throwing out “perfectly good stuff,” then stop buying it and ask the relatives to limit the toys they purchase to one really nice item instead of a pile of stuff. Another option for gifts is that the relatives can buy your kids tickets to the zoo, theater or concerts, or pay for their sports and music lessons.

A child booster seat distribution event will take place from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday Sept. 23 at the Monroe Department of Public Services building, 222 Jones Ave., Monroe, Mich.

Booster seats will be given free of charge to residents of Monroe County, Mich., who attend this event.

Child safety seat technicians also will be available to demonstrate the proper installation and use of booster seats.

Michigan state law requires all children younger than 8 years and shorter than 4 feet 9 inches tall to sit in a booster seat. All children under age 4 also must ride in the rear seat of the vehicle if the vehicle has a back seat.

The sponsors include Mercy Memorial Hospital System, Wal-Mart of Monroe, Monroe Department of Public Services, All-American Portable Toilets, Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning, Monroe Police Department, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and Michigan State Police.

A snippet:

One reader, Karen in Kansas, shares: “I recently went shopping for a baby gift, and I couldn’t believe all the stuff we did without. Mostly because it wasn’t available. Here are some words of wisdom from the ‘Household Searchlight Homemaking Guide’ from 1937. It was good then, and even better advice now. ‘Supplies for the baby: Do not permit good judgment to be influenced by the sentiment of having a baby. There are so many cute things to buy that it is a temptation to fill the baby’s wardrobe with nonessentials. Dozens of the cute things are 100 percent impractical. Do not forget that babies grow rapidly.’”

By the way, Sara is one of several nationally known frugal living and personal finance writers who just happen to be from Michigan.