Overview

Children & Teens

The Center, originally established as the Child Care Office in 1970, has maintained a strong commitment to supporting MIT families with children. Over time, the range of services for families has expanded dramatically. While continuing to assist families with child care needs, the Center also offers a broad range of resources for families with children of all ages, from infancy through adulthood.

All are welcome: Biological and adoptive parents, step-parents, guardians, grandparents, extended family and kin, foster parents, and any others responsible for children's care.

Resources fall into the following categories:

Backup childcare and eldercare referral program
MIT recently added a new program offering backup childcare and eldercare referrals through Parents in a Pinch, Inc. and its partner eldercare organization, Griswold Special Care. The program provides screened and trained in-home caregivers when temporary care is needed to cover the work time of the employee.

Birth and adoption
For new and expectant parents, the Center offers information and resources to assist with issues relating to adoption, becoming a parent, breastfeeding, child care, and maternity and parental leave.

Child care information
The Center has a wealth of information about types of child care, choosing child care, costs, and more, as well as listings of local programs. The Center also offers briefings and consultations on child care issues. Consult our web pages on child care information or contact the Center for further information.

Child care centers
MIT recently significantly expanded its on-site, center-based child care, creating the new Stata child care center, renovating and reorganizing MIT's existing child care centers on campus and at Lincoln Laboratory, launching a new child care co-operative pilot program at Westgate, and establishing child care scholarship programs. Consult the web pages on MIT Child Care Centers , Technology Children's Centers , or Lincoln Laboratory Children's Center , or contact the Center for further information.

Parenting
The Center is ready to help with any parenting concern, from planning or preparing for parenthood, to setting limits with toddlers, to separation and divorce, to raising teens, to caring for special needs adults. Seminars are offered on a wide range of parenting topics, as are ongoing discussion groups. Private consultations are available by appointment. Also, the Center's lending library has books on a wide range of issues involving children and teens. Consult the web pages on parenting or contact the Center for further information.

Schools
The Center offers assistance with finding and selecting schools, and with school-related issues such as special needs, giftedness, and school problems. The Center also helps international families with understanding the American school system and enrolling their children in school. Check out the web pages on school information, or request a private consultation on a school-related issue. Contact the Center for further information.

Summer camps
In cooperation with the Cambridge-based Child Care Resource Center, the Center maintains an on-line database of day camps in the Boston area for children of all ages, including academic programs, specialty camps, and more. The Center also offers periodic briefings on summer camps, as well as preliminary information on overnight camps and other programs. Consult the web pages on summer camp information or contact the Center for further information.