Rearing, I’ve heard, is a tough business. This is probably why Google returns more search results for websites on the topic than there are newborn babies in the United States — and why many of those results are online communities of parents that exchange advice and support.
While I’m not a parent myself, I played one on about 20 such communities this week. During my time as an impostor mom, I found some communities that were too focused on marketing a brand to be useful, and others that were functionally more like parenting ghost towns than networks. These six sites, however, impressed me as useful resources and active communities.
CafeMom is one of the most active online communities for mothers that I’ve seen. When I posted a question (I used the same question on all sites), I received six reasonably helpful responses in the first ten minutes.
The site gets several features right. First, the focus is on conversation, not necessarily just parenting advice. There are forum sections and groups for a number of interests like politics and techie topics in addition to parenting topics. Moms also have an opportunity to write journal entries and blog posts, the most popular of which are highlighted. Other entertainment options on the site like polls, videos, contests, and games make it a destination even when moms don’t have pressing parenting questions.
CafeMom’s creators have also invoked game mechanics. You get points for asking a question (as long as its not anonymous) and answering questions. When people respond to your inquiries, you can award the authors of the best responses more points — which encourages helpful responses. These points increase your “level” on the site and help earn badges.
Another boon is that it’s easy to find and keep up with mothers who have similar interests. You can search for other mothers to introduce yourself to based on your location, interests, children’s ages, or a combination of the three. When you sign up for groups, there’s an option to get an e-mail digest of daily responses.
Like most social networks that have sprouted in the last five years, MothersClick borrows a few facets from Facebook. Moms can create profiles that include wall posts, friends, private messages, photos and status settings. Groups form around subjects like “moms who rock” and “moms who blog,” and it’s possible to post questions to either your groups or to everybody.
One thing I like is that you can keep track of the conversations that you are involved in and the questions you’ve asked through a simple news feed instead of constantly checking for a response. A search bar at the top of the site is also a great feature that most often gives you the answer to your question before you’ve even asked it.
This isn’t the most active site, however, and the newest posts under some topics are more than a year old. The network does, however, helpfully take the liberty of suggesting other moms with your interests and in your area who you might add as friends.
The most unique feature of mamapedia is that it sorts discussion topics based on a timeline of your child’s development. You can see the issues that other parents have already started conversations around based on the common age of your children.
Beyond this, the platform is intuitive and effective. A large search bar lets you forget about navigating and find the information that you need quickly. You can follow questions that you have answered or asked through separate tabs as well as questions asked by moms in your area. Highlighted blog posts are also often specific to your location.
The community is fairly active, and I received five responses to my inquiry in the first ten minutes. The local aspects are also appreciated, opening up the opportunity for more relevant, and possibly even in-person, discussions.
The site supports itself by offering “sweet deals” and “member perks” from your local sponsors. Most of these are relatively appealing, but if you don’t want to look at them they stay tucked in their own tab.
Dads, here it is: a social network for patents that doesn’t have “mom” in its title. Minti has a robust arsenal of archived advice written by parents. The site, which is mostly organized in a forum style, has Q&A format sections but also encourages each member to write advice blog posts.
The amount of information on Minti is truly useful and can accessed by search. Interaction, however, seems less of a focus than on some of the other sites. It’s easy to get lost in the forums and recent questions, which, while given their own tabs, aren’t highlighted. Nobody responded to my question until the next day.
Rewards for participating do exist, however. The site has its own virtual currency that can be exchanged for real currency (at a rate of about 500 to 1) that users earn by doing things like writing blog posts and inviting friends.
Momslikeme.com has built communities around more than 60 locations. When you register, you’re automatically placed in a group with your zip code and directed to your local site. The zip code groups generally don’t have much activity, but it is helpful to have your homepage organized to highlight what other parents in your area are talking about.
Polls feature prominently on the page and often stray away from parenting advice topics. For instance, today’s featured NYC poll is “Should the health care reform bill be repealed?”
As with other sites, you can add friends, send private messages, and join groups. The site’s bread and butter is a coupon section that mostly offers discounts for grocery items.
The community section of online parenting publication BabyCenter follows a similar format as many others by giving parents an opportunity to add friends, post journal entries, and share photos.
The most active portion of the site is probably its “birth clubs.” You enter the club that matches the month and year of your child’s birth or anticipated birth. Since all the group member’s children are going through the same stages at the same time, it’s easy to find relevant discussions. It’s also easier to build relationships because there’s no need to jump forums or groups as your child ages.
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, damircudic
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James P. Steyer is CEO and Founder of Common Sense Media, a non-profit organization that provides education and tools for parents and kids about the media and technology in their lives. You can follow them on Twitter at 
