The Internet is not just a source of funny videos and annoying forwarded mail. Today’s tech-savvy parents are lucky – they have a wealth of information at their fingertips.

Here are some of the best and most popular parenting sites in cyberspace. But limiting yourself to these sites is like being in the world’s biggest library and sticking to just one or two authors.

Click on these links but don’t be afraid to log on to big search engines like Google.com to find more websites and discover a world of parenting information to swim in.

Parenting.com

Parenting.com, the website of Parenting and Babytalk magazines in the US, has different channels—Fertility, Pregnancy, Baby, Toddler, Child, Mom, Recipes, Activities, Gear and Community.

It has cool features including Child Symptom Checker, Fertility Calculator, Baby Names and guides for parents arranged by child age. Pregnant moms can check out the Babytalk Pregnancy Planner, which gives them a weekly guide to their child’s development.

Answer quick polls (Yes or no: Have you cut back on your child’s allowance because of the economy?), read quotes, discuss topics with other parents and get quick dinner recipes all from one site.

Parenting.ivillage.com

iVillage’s Pregnancy & Parenting site is loaded with information for both new and experienced parents. There are daily news and advice from experts, discussions and a number of articles.

The site also aims to equip moms with tools like the pregnancy calendar, fertility planner, maternity fashion fitter, sleep method decoder, development tracker and first year of life calendar. There’s also a family activity calendar so you can plan your bonding time with your children.

Is your child a prodigy? Find out by watching videos featured on the site. Visit this website for countless tips—whether you want to conceive or are concerned about your baby, your toddler, your grade-schooler, your tween or your teen.

Build a support group for yourself—what they call a “momtourage”—because according to the site, “No mom should have to do it alone.”

Dr. Toy

Dr. Toy (www.drtoy.com), a website that has been up for over 10 years now, aims to “provide the best advice on children’s products.” It lists the best toys for parents to buy for their kids. Toys are listed under different categories—best toys, best picks, best 25 for $10, classic toys, smart toys.

There’s also a search engine allowing you to find toys based on your children’s age, the price and product type. Just a warning, though, some toys might not be available locally. But the website does link to the manufacturer’s websites and some online stores so you can go toy shopping on your computer.

Other site features include product reviews, an “Ask Dr. Toy” corner, prescriptions for play and more.

Parenthood.com

Still on beta testing, Parenthood is already loaded with a lot of information for parents. Topics are arranged from A to Z (actually, just Y—“Yard and Garden”); there’s a blog directory, yellow pages and tools. The site also features information on family finances, food and nutrition, health and wellness, pets and more.

Articles may be e-mailed to your friends so you can share good finds with other parents, too. Parenthood.com’s most e-mailed stories include “What to teach your kids about safety and first-aid,” “12 steps to follow before getting pregnant,” Toilet training a toddle,” “Hire a nanny before you have a baby” and “Stepfamilies: the ultimate challenge!”

Familydoctor.org

Run by the American Academy of Family Physicians, Familydoctor.org offers “health information for the whole family.” Site features include a dictionary, drug info and a search-by-symptom function. There are tips on choosing a family doctor, talking to your doctor, health journals, medical errors and more. Health conditions are categorized alphabetically.

Familydoctor.org is a good resource for information on everything, from toilet training and diaper rash to acne and ADHD.

Kidshealth.org

Kidshealth.org is a portal that leads you to three websites—the parents’ site which offers parenting tips and info; the kids’ site which can show young children how the body works; and the teens’ site which offers advice and answers to questions they may have about their bodies and their health.

Run by the experts of Nemours Foundation and up since 1995, half a billion Internet users have visited Kidshealth. The site has feature articles, animation, even games. Click on The Game Closet for games and activities that can help you and your kids discover more about health and the human body.

Family Education

Family Education (www.familyeducation.com) is a good source of parenting advice, games for the family, activities for kids and even recipes. Over the holiday season, the site’s most popular articles included “Top 10 Christmas Movies,” “Top 10 Stocking-Stuffer Gift Ideas” and “Hottest Holiday Toys: Ages 7-11.”

Parenting guides are divided according to your children’s ages: 0-6, 7-11, 12-18. The site also features food and recipe search, message boards for reaching out to other parents and a “Family Printables Center,” home to thousands of printable activities for your kids.

Other fun site features include the Child Height Predictor, Cooking Videos, and games, puzzles and comics for moms on break.

Familyfun.com

A website under DisneyFamily.com and the online home of Family Fun magazine, Familyfun.com (familyfun.go.com) offers a lot of fun activities for the whole family. Arts and crafts, parties, recipes, games and travel ideas can all be found on this site. There are also printables for more activities that will keep your kids entertained.

You can even do a quick search and find ideas for kids of all ages (from toddlers to 12-year-olds), no matter what “they’re crazy about”— princesses, under the sea, butterflies and bugs, sports, fantasy and fairies, animals, pirates or cars.

Parentstv.org

The online home of The Parents Television Council, a US organization determined to protect children against sex, violence and profanity in entertainment, Parentstv.org is a good website to visit to check which US TV shows are safe for your kids to watch (they have different ratings—red for shows that are unsuitable for children, yellow for shows which contain adult-oriented themes that may be inappropriate, green for family-friendly shows).

PTC also conducts studies that go beyond television. The site features a story on YouTube and how “explicit content is one click away from children” and how “popular child-friendly terms like ‘Hannah Montana’ give kids easy access to sexual content and explicit language.”

You can also get information about the TV shows children watch the most.

Parent Previews

Want to know if that new movie is safe for your kids to watch? Visit www.parentpreviews.com, a website that reviews movies so parents will know which ones are suitable for their children.

Reviews include tips for parents on family discussions about the movies and video alternatives. The site now has a database of over 1,500 movies, which are not just given an overall grade but also graded according to violence, sexual content, language and drugs/alcohol.

Parent Previews also reviews DVD releases so you’ll know which ones are safe to pick up for your kids.