Where to go, what to do with kids in Monmouth Co. 'The Parent Pages' is a resource for activities, enrichment and more BY LINDA DeNICOLA Staff Writer Becoming the parent of Gage, 6, and Ryan, 8, prompted Keelin Hutzley to write a resource guide for parents. It's a simple idea, but oh so timely. A resource guide for parents and newcomers that details everything from where to look for a fun activity, to birthday party information, schools and mothers' organizations. "The Parent Pages" has all the information that parents need in one place - and with Web site information, too. Compiled by local mom and author Keelin Hutzley, the 140-page softcover family guide has been a year in the making. Although it was a simple idea, compiling "The Parent Pages" involved a lot of research, phone calls and fact checking. And Hutzley, a physician's assistant by training who is now a stay-at-home mother, is the catalyst, researcher and marketing strategist. Hutzley moved to the Wayside section of Ocean Township in 1996, and two years later her first child was born, and with him, her need to locate all that the area had to offer for families. Two years later, her second son was born and she became a stay-at-home mom and began writing articles for parenting magazines. So, it was a natural extension for her to think in terms of compiling a directory for parents. Actually, the directory was created out of frustration. As a newcomer to Monmouth County, she did not know exactly where to find things for her two children, so her mission became to create a comprehensive, unbiased guide to children's entertainment, education, activities and enrichment for coastal Monmouth County. "Many larger metropolitan areas have guides that take the guesswork out of where to go and what to do with your kids," she said. "I was so surprised that such a burgeoning area as Monmouth County had nothing of its kind. The phone book could only take you so far." Hutzley said she decided to focus on the coastal area because she lives in Ocean Township and was looking for things to do in the area between Red Bank and Brielle. "I am just as close to Red Bank as I am to Brielle, but I could only learn about things in Red Bank if a business owner chose to pay to be in two phone directories," she pointed out. Her book "The Parent Pages," she said, has it all. "It does not review the individual listings, although a few entries have insider tips such as calling early to register for a particular camp or who to ask for at a retail establishment," she said. Hutzley feels that a good feature of the directory is the Web site listings. "As busy as parents are today, often by the time we can sit down to figure out what we would like to do with our kids, be it an after-school activity or planning a birthday party, the sun has gone down, the children are asleep and businesses are closed," she said. "With the Web sites right at hand, there is no need to Google until you are bleary-eyed. You can just go right to the Web sites listed. "Every entry has been painstakingly called and visited, with contact information checked, checked and checked again," Hutzley said. An extensive table of contents for "The Parent Pages" runs the gamut of the alphabet from Acting Classes and Amusement Parks and ending with Yoga Classes and Zoos. In between are listings for classes, day trips, sports facilities, lessons, museums, libraries, day camps, consignment shops, furnishings, haircuts, playgrounds and more. The Birthday Parties section, for example, lists many resources for entertainment, types of parties, themes, rentals, cakes and locations. The section on Schools and Day Care Centers is broken down geographically with listings for northern, central and southern Monmouth County. It includes ages for the children and the directors' names. Hutzley said she has many friends who helped her compile the entries. They called her to ask if she had this place or that in her book. Her children accompanied her on much of the fieldwork, she said. "There were what I call covert operations, where my children and I would set out to verify a business actually existed and find the owner. My 8-year-old started asking, 'Where to today, Mom?' "I began to think the chapter on ice cream shops was as much to keep my children happy while we were on the road as it was for the sake of the book," she said. Hutzley, who lived in Manhattan before moving to Wayside, said the catalyst for the book came from a popular guide for parents raising children in Manhattan. The idea for the Monmouth County guide germinated for over two years, during which she wrote freelance articles for publications aimed at parents, she said. "The first time I contemplated writing the book was when I had written an article on day trips in Monmouth County," she said. "My first thought was that I barely needed to research the piece as I did quite a lot with my own children. But, of course, I did research it for three weeks and when I was finished, I wiped my brow and thought, this is amazing, there is so much out there," she said. Whether a newcomer, new parent or just someone who wants to know what resources are available in coastal Monmouth County, the directory can be invaluable. In addition to the directory, Hutzley lists a number of her favorite activities on the last page. They include flying a kite, taking the ferry to New York, watching the horse races at Monmouth Park and listening to the summer concert series at Sandy Hook. A portion of the proceeds from "The Parent Pages" will be donated to the nonprofit Family and Children's Service in Long Branch. The book can be purchased directly from www.parentpagesnj.com or at a number of retail locations including Borders Books in Eatontown; River Road Books in Fair Haven; Kidegories in Pier Village, Long Branch; Sickles Market in Little Silver; Toymasters in Red Bank; West End Family Pharmacy in Long Branch; and Chapel Hill Pharmacy in Middletown. For information on "The Parent Pages," Hutzley can be reached by e-mail at Keelin@Kepwel.com