Being a parent can be stressful and confusing! Kids go through phases and can be unpredictable. They are also independent being with thoughts, feelings and ideas of their own that we can't always understand or don't know how to deal with.
Before the internet, parents relied on advice from their own family or the town doctor. But today we are lucky enough to have the web and its vast resources for parenting tips and tricks.
What's even better is that whatever parenting style you favor — positive, attachment, authoritative, permissive — there is likely a vibrant online community for your niche. And the advice is coming from real parents who are in the trenches right there with you.
Here is a list of some of the best parenting forums out there:
- Circle of Moms: Topics run the gamut from getting a picky toddler to eat to teenager woes, but most of it is skewed towards parents of younger children with popular topics including birthday party ideas, toddler speech development and newborn sleep training.
- Family Education: This site is very organized and has content divided into easy-to-access categories like "School & Learning", "Teens" and "Entertainment & Activities." Unlike most of the other forums mentioned on this list, this content is created by staff writers.
- Today Parenting: This off-shoot of the Today Show is a place where viewers can ask questions, share answers and even write posts for the site. There is also a fun parenting challenge section that will inspire you to be a better parent.
- Parenting.com: The popular magazine, Parenting, provides this online mecca for real moms and dads to talk about everything from teething to fertility. The forum's description explains why people love reading answers from fellow parents in forums: "Sometimes it's nice to get advice from experts with a lot of letters degrees behind their names, but other times you just need to hear from another parent what has worked." This is so true. Your pediatrician might tell you something and you will believe it, but if ten of your best girlfriends all validate that idea, it will help you feel completely confident.
- Mothering.com: This forum is handy because it is organized by age category. So if you are the parent of a teenager, you don't have to wade through a bunch of potty training posts to find about the threads about curfews. You just keep scrolling until you find your people!
- Sybermoms: This site is hilarious. If you are looking for some comic relief to go along with sound advice, this is the place to get it! And the thread category names will make you smile. They even have a thread specifically for dads on this site.
- Just Mommies: This group is all about friendly and warm encouragement. One unique thing about this site is that they have special threads specifically for parents dealing with grief and loss of all kinds. It's a much-needed respite for parents doing their best.
- Natural Parenting: This group has an international tone and is based in Australia. If you have older kids be sure to check out the "Big Kids World" and "Talking Teens" pages. There tends to be lots of great advice for raising young kids on the web and less helpful material for wrangling teenagers, but this group bucks that trend.
- Liahona Academy: Our blog has great info for specifically for helping parents of troubled teenagers. We covers topics that affect at-risk youth including bullying, behavior disorders, social problems, online safety and the benefits of therapeutic boarding school programs.
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