Moms Connect On The Internet

By Meghan Casserly

Have parenting message boards and mommy blogs co-opted the park bench? Or are they virtual roots to a network of real-life friends and neighbors?

When a woman of the analog baby-booming generation moved to a new town or had a new baby, bets are that she would've joined a local women's club or mommy group. How else would she make friends, find the right doctor or school, or discover child-friendly treasures like playgrounds and toy shops?

Fast-forward to 2009, and that same mother has only to turn on her laptop to discover a vast network of blogs and message boards with one mission in mind--mothers helping other mothers make the most of their cities and neighborhoods.

In Depth: Best Cities For Working Mothers

Maura Obercian, a 28-year-old Spanish teacher from Brooklyn, N.Y., for example, not only found a much-loved nanny through a local message board but also, for cost-cutting purposes, discovered another couple with a child the same age to nanny-share. And when her son grew out of his bassinet, she found a one-of-a-kind crib to fit in an odd-shaped nook in her apartment from a mom living only two blocks away. They met online.

Are local parenting networks, message boards and blogs taking the place of a neighborly cup of coffee or park bench chat? Or, in the increasingly time-pressed lives of working mothers, are online communities simply the virtual roots of a real-life network of friends and neighbors?

A recent study conducted by The Bump, an online community for expecting and new mothers, reports that 80% of working mothers use message boards or forums, with 75% naming it as one of the top two most valued resources for information on motherhood and parenting, second only to talking to other mothers face-to-face.

The site's editor in chief Carley

Roney has seen enormous growth in their forums, particularly for working mothers. "Working moms are intent on reaching out to each other online--to quickly and efficiently get advice from real people," she says.

Their working moms message board was launched in October of 2008 and has shown a 182% increase in page views in under a year and currently boasts over 3,000 active threads. Interestingly enough, Roney points out that the majority of posts are happening during business hours--reinforcing the idea of the multi-tasking working mom by day who wants to spend some down time with her family in the evening.

Some more grass-roots approaches have been equally as successful. Yahoo Groups, for example, one of the largest social/support group aggregators that allows users to create their own discussion boards on topics as varied as mutual funds to American Girl dolls, lists over 12,000 groups for moms. The numbers swell along the coastline, with the highest numbers of users in New York City (a Yahoo Groups search of "Brooklyn Parents" turns up over 230 groups) and Los Angeles. Still, across the country--in both major metro areas (a search of "Chicago Parenting" turns up over 420) and bedroom communities (some 100 turn up in suburban Ohio)--parents, especially working ones, are meeting their neighbors and exploring their cities online.

ForbesWoman combed the Internet and spoke to bloggers and mothers to find out the best message boards, blogs and networks for moms. If we've missed your city or favorite (and we've admittedly stuck to the big ones), let us know in our comments below.

The Bump

The Goliath of baby and parenting sites, The Bump grew out of wedding site The Knot when both its editors and community members began having babies. These women, who had been discussing wedding plans and fiancé woes, made the natural progression into nanny-management and diaper duty. "At its core," says editor Carley Roney, "it's a local baby and parenting resource." The Bump publishes 15 local guidebooks each year and juggles local boards in 83 cities nationwide. "[Boards] are a huge solution for moms, to connect with other parents and trade resources, particularly for the working mom when there's not an extra second in the day," Roney says.

Los Angeles

Jen's List

Spawned from a daily e-mail sent to friends and relatives by a "supermom" of five boys while on bed rest during her first pregnancy, Jen Levinson's recounting of family activities, kid-friendly products and services now reaches over 10,000 families in greater Los Angeles. Jen's currently considering cutting back from seven days to a Monday through Friday schedule to have more time for her, well, life, but demand from readers and advertisers has her committed full-time through the end of the summer and beyond.

Peachhead

Peachhead is one of the largest independent parenting message boards online, boasting over 4,000 families in its community. Linda Perry, a Venice, Calif., native who works part-time at a law firm, began networking with other local families in 1997 with a newsletter of activities and events. By 2003, realizing the need for a more effective way of getting her word out, Perry started the first Yahoo Group. There is now an overwhelming variety of subject- and location-specific Peachhead Yahoo Groups. Peachheadworkingmoms, for example, has nearly 650 members in the Los Angeles area.

Miami

MomsMiami

While the MomsMiami site is a comprehensive blog full of parenting advice, the forums stand out as the must-see resource for moms in the area. The "local events" forum is consistently the one with the most action and includes classes on everything from how to correctly install a child car seat to how to save money by--gasp!--clipping coupons.

New York

BoCoCa Parents

With over 3,581 members in the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens, BoCoCa Parents is the largest Yahoo group in the New York metro area. "When we wanted to hire a nanny and then fired one and hired another, I went through the board and asked for nanny recommendations and asked questions about hiring, managing and paying nannies," says Rebecca Green, a PR professional and mother of a 9-month-old. She also points out that the board can be a life-saver in time-pressing situations: When her nanny was unable to watch her son on a recent weekday, she found a replacement nanny through a friend on the board--all while working her typical nine-hour day.

I Saw Your Nanny

ISYN is every parent's dream--and every nanny's worst nightmare. Founded by "Jane Doe," former NYC nanny-turned blogger in September of 2006, the site now features a state-by-state directory of anonymously submitted nanny sightings. "We hear horrible stories of nannies who end up hurting children, and I wonder why didn't someone somewhere notice something was off? Didn't a parent at the park notice her lack of patience?" Ms. Doe questions. The site was started as a place for people to post their observations in the hope that it could prevent abuse or neglect.

Washington, D.C.

A Parent in Silver Spring

Launched in January 2008 with such insider tips as "which pet stores didn't mind if you brought your baby in to simply look at the fish," the site has rocketed from 500 too 7,000 unique page views a day. Jessica McFadden, the mastermind behind the community resource site, also sends an e-mail to the inboxes of over 1,000 D.C.-area women each day with activity suggestions and events to demystify what she calls the "secret society of in-the-know moms." Incidentally, Jessica's guerrilla marketing of her site took root in local Yahoo Groups.

Houston

MomHouston

A spin-off blog of the Houston Chronicle, MomHouston has a stricter editorial slant than many of the other sites on this list, but it's certainly no less valuable. From free things to do in town and tips for choosing the right daycare for your child, to tactics to encourage your children to read, the site is a winner in local resources and no-nonsense advice. Beyond the blogging, the site hosts a bevy of forum topics for local mothers seeking more personal attention. A recent tool posted on the site (July 21 entry, for you Texas moms) provides a search for childcare violations by ZIP code.

In Depth: Best Cities For Working Mothers

More From Forbes.com:

Prepare To Be A Working Mom

Eight Essential Items For A Perfect Wardrobe

How Stay-At-Home Moms Can Get Back To Work