Most Useful Web Sites
> Family, Kids & Relationships
Whether you're in a multigenerational family or single, we’ll help you thrive. Our research staff has evaluated hundreds of Web sites covering genealogy, family issues, parenting techniques, raising teens, getting into college, empty nesting, grandparenting, romance and sex, marriage, divorce, 50+ dating, and more. We've selected the best sites--the most useful and comprehensive of the bunch–and provided concise descriptions of each.
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50 Plus Dating/Matchmaking
BabyBoomerPeopleMeet
A quick and easy way for single boomers to view and contact thousands of people just like yourself. Set up an online audio, video or photo album. Look through picture personals. Detailed searches help you meet and greet new people or find a special someone. Added features include thumbnail profiles, member contact, online chat, and everything that goes along with it.
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Prime Singles
Well put together, easy to use, and contains all major features to meet your perfect match. Friend finder technology helps you create a personal profile and find singles based on your personal preferences. Comfortable, safe and reliable dating and match-making services to thousands of older singles throughout the world. View upcoming events held by members. Live chat, message boards, photo gallery. Free dating membership.
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SeniorMatch
It’s never too late. Dating site for 50+ singles. Meet new friends, find true love. Easy to use and free. This large database of single men and women features a photo gallery and updated new member listings. Send and get messages/replies, create and manage your personal online photo album. Participate in 50+ forums, blogs, online chat and a lot more.
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SeniorsCircle
Find your special someone. Online meeting service for individuals 45+. Free trial membership. This online dating service allows you to place a personal ad and contact a few members before joining. Post your photo, profile and include a voice greeting. Simple registration process. Members communicate through anonymous email addresses. Includes free chat and winks.
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SeniorFriendFinder
One of the largest senior dating services specializing in matching people 50+. With over 188,000 active members, SeniorFriendFinder makes it easy to meet people, find partners for dating, romance, friendship and other encounters. Browse by age, gender, county, state, zipcode, province. Strict profile reviews. Exchange information, chat, look through forum topics and blogs. Unique “Senior FriendFinder Magazine” with member submitted content lets you read or respond to interesting articles.
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Yahoo! Personals
Do you Yahoo! Easy to navigate dating website that focuses on compatibility, individual choice, and quality matches. Join the very active dating community, create a profile and search for matches. Features include voice and video greetings as well as an icebreaker message exchange. It’s a simple, easy way to present yourself and get to know other members.
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Great Expectations
No surprises here. This dating service screens and validates vital information then allows members to meet face-to-face. Find people who are single and live in your area. Members can update personal photos and videos, have access to a team of relationship professionals, and view thousands of member profiles. Receive invitations to Great Expectations parties and exclusive member events. Personal matching system combined with compassionate dating “team” members could put you in your desired relationship quickly.
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eHarmony
Tune in to one of the most popular online dating sites for those who are "ready to find the love of their life." You can complete a personality profile that will score your preferences on what is said to be the keys to a successful relationship. Profiles are matched with others having compatible interests to help you find one true love.
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Lavalife
World’s largest interactive dating service. Free registration is fast, easy and lets you create a free adult dating profile and connect with singles instantly. Upload videos or post a photo gallery and join this unique online dating and personals service, with thousands of local adults to meet. Find a friend, a date, love, a committed relationship or more!
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Divorce/Stepfamilies
DivorceSource
Breaking up is not hard to do. One stop spot for divorce information and services. Articles and tutorials on state laws. Divorce checklists, tools, agreements and forms. Download complete divorce guides, divorce record keepers, custody and child support handbooks, marital separation and property agreements. Find divorce professionals and services by category and/or state.
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DivorceHQ
Terrific source for divorce topics such as alimony, child custody, child support and visitation. View separation agreements, financial guides, tips and calculators. Locate divorce mediators, attorneys and other services. Lots of how-to’s on hiring attorneys, working with attorneys, court room tips. Find collaborative organizations and professionals to resolve divorce issues. Includes state-by-state divorce laws and requirements.
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National Stepfamily Resource Center
National Stepfamily Resource Center is a nonprofit organization focused on researched-based resources for stepfamilies. Educational resources, articles, books and newsletters. Stepfamily factsheets and myths. Publications about key advocacy issues. FAQ’s pertaining to stepfamilies and the law, finances, and special issues. Look for and/or participate in related activities and events.
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Empty-Nesting
Empty Nest Moms
Excellent site for all of you moms out there who are feeling the empty nest blues since the children have all become adults and left home. “Life After the Nest Empties,” their discussion forum for empty nest Moms & Dads is a great place to share stories and make new friends. Find a variety of empty nester products to pick from here and experience a unique way of shopping and all with one cart. Empty nest books, women’s health, inspirational, fiction, non-fiction and much more. Check out all the latest empty nester articles, columns and other interesting information, and be sure to sign up for their ENM Magazine newsletter.
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Empty Nest Support Services
This useful site helps anticipating empty nesters and empty-nest families through the joys and challenges of a new life chapter. Message boards, live chat forums, a newsletter, related links & resources, articles & stories, an art & photo gallery and more.
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Family Issues–Middle Age
LifeTWO
The best years of your life. A great web source for extensive information on middle age topics. Up to the minute articles on well-being, health, and nutrition. Learn about the latest current research and studies. Manage your personal finances, or plan for retirement. Helpful job and career advice, articles, discussions and lots more to manage any midlife crisis.
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Genealogy/Family Trees
Online FamilyTree, Plus
A growing trend—simple to use web-based application that allows you to create a visual chart and detailed text of the lineage of your family genealogy. Start by building your personal page then grow your family tree by adding parents and children, as well as parents of parents and children of children until all your relatives are included! A great way to preserve old memories in a modern environment.
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The Online Journal: Writing Your Memories
The write stuff—a journaling website to help you write, build, preserve and share your life story. Educate and entertain your family and friends for generations to come. Record memories of favorite foods, birthdays, schools, special occasions, events and anecdotes from your life. Share photos, letters, diplomas and mementos with your children and grandchildren. Features include chapters for organizing your journals, blogs to write your daily thoughts, and tools to add photos and video to your stories. Infinitely expandable free family tree.
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RootsWeb
Whether you are a beginner or a pro, you will find who (or what) you are looking for here. Updated frequently, weblinks are categorized and cross-referenced in tons of different categories. Search individual pages for each state which include links to counties, county maps, courthouse addresses and lists of family history centers. Link to other websites with genealogical resources, funeral homes, vital records information, societies/groups, mailing lists, and much more! Search your family tree or create a family tree. Includes search by name, ancestry, etc.
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Ancestry
Top search engine for finding people or performing background checks. This resource of over 150-million names, contains information dating back from 1947 to present, on everything from military, birth and death records and more. Use this tool to discover your heritage, locate an existing family tree or start your own. Tons of related links and information for sharing home movies, restoring old photos, scrapbooking and much more.
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The Boomer Initiative
Non-profit organization specializing in the challenges of the boomer generation. Browse the archive of boomer related articles. Enter the Online Conference Center, for UseNet-style posting of queries, concerns, announcements and other messages from you and your peers. The only qualification is that you must have been born between the years of 1946 and 1964. What happened the year you were born?
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SnapsForSeniors
Quick search for information on the topics of Senior Housing, Genealogy, Family History, Family Tree Research and several other senior related areas of interest.
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Getting Kids Into College
U.S. Department of Education
The U.S. Department of Education provides comprehensive information to help parents navigate the academic and financial maze. Topics include preparing and finding colleges, paying for colleges, financial loans, scholarships and more. Latest government information on tax benefits, tuition plans, borrowing and saving. Features tools, forms and FAQ’s to help your children and/or grandchildren through the college education process.
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Peterson’s College Planner: Parent Edition
Peterson’s is a trusted recognized source for parents and grandparents. Everything you need to know about college including time planning, college consulting, admissions essay advice. Research schools by areas of study, location, etc. Articles on paying for college, loan information and advice. Special expense and savings tips, tools and calculators.
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SuperCollege
Special advice and tips just for parents of college students and the college bound. Help your children or grandchildren organize applications, send out requests for recommendations and give feedback on essays. Lots of resources, newsletters, tools and services for up to the minute advice and information on college education tuition and scholarships. Find workshops and books on student loans and financial programs. Search free database for available scholarships.
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FinAid
Parents have been depending on FinAid since 1994 to help them plan for Junior's insanely expensive college costs. Consider it an independent field guide to smart loan strategies and scholarships with no hidden agenda. In fact, the easy-to-use scholarship search tool could prove invaluable (note that you'll have to supply a bit of personal info to gain access to this page).
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SavingForCollege.com
Many parents will depend on so-called "529" savings plans to put money away for college. Here's the place to learn how to approach this strategy. While much of the info is free (and extremely thorough), you may want to pay $14.95 for a 30-day subscription to dig deeper into state-by-state information to see what all your options are.
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College Confidential
Welcome to the best source of college information on the Web! Here you'll find hundreds of pages of articles about choosing a college, getting into the college you want for your kids, how to pay for it, and much more. You'll also find a great discussion community related to college admissions, and their College Visits section.
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GreatSchools
GreatSchools helps parents choose the best school by providing comprehensive profiles for more than 120,000 schools nationwide. Other parent-friendly features include exclusive ratings, parent reviews, powerful search and compare tools, and helpful advice. Choose the best school for your child!
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College Navigator
Great resource for finding the right college for your kids. Build a list of schools using My Favorites for side-by-side comparisons. Pinpoint school locations with an interactive map. Export search results into a spreadsheet. Save your session including search options, results and favorites. During your visit, apply for Federal Student Aid on FAFSA. Still deciding on a career? Consult their Occupational Outlook Handbook.
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CampusTours
CampusTours is the worldwide leader in virtual college tours and academic multimedia, working with hundreds of colleges and universities since 1997. CampusTours was founded to provide an intuitive gateway to official university multimedia, and currently more than two million people visit the CampusTours.com site annually to experience college presentations.
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Grandparents/Grandparenting
Families with Purpose
One of the best websites to help grandparents (and parents) make the most of their time with children and grandchildren. Chock full of suggestions for planning fun family activities. Inspire caring and compassion in children with volunteer ideas for family community service. Search for family events in your city, state. Exchange resources with others on family blog, and sign up for free newsletter containing family life tips and activities.
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Grandparents’ Web
Terrific resource for grandparents–articles on health, education, fun, activities, travel. Weekly tips for bonding with grandchildren, keeping in touch, discipline suggestions, getting grandchildren to obey rules, and grandparents as mentors. Helpful hands-on entertaining, planning and recipes. Free grandparenting newsletter keeps you up to date on timely topics.
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The Grandparent Foundation
The not-for-profit Foundation for Grandparenting has extensive resources and helpful information to better the lives of grandchildren, parents, grandparents, and communities through education, research, programs, communication, and networking. Learn about raising grandchildren, step-grandparenting or find grandparenting classes. Topic articles and research on health, education, activities. Browse grandparent forums or Q and A. Shop for books, films, recipes, etc.
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Grandparents Rights Organization
This is a national volunteer non profit organization that educates and supports grandparents and grandchildren. Grandparents Rights Organization advocates for continuing relationships that may be threatened following death or divorce of grandchild(s) parents. Read important articles and newsletters covering topics of disputes, grandparent legal rights, visitation laws and more.
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Grand Times!
Weekly magazine geared towards active older adults. Entertaining, informative articles on grandparenting, health, relationships and more. Includes current national and world news, health and science reports and financial and legal advice. Also find tips on cooking, pets and sports. Shop for books and products as well as gift suggestions for grandchildren.
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Grand Magazine
Online magazine for todays grandparents. Guides, tips, book reviews, news and articles deal with traditional grandparenting, step grandparenting, distance grandparenting and raising grandchildren. Up to the minute information on health and fitness, love, romance, marriage, food and travel. Learn about the latest technology innovations and trends. Get financial advice from experts on budget management, trust funds, best inheritance plans and tax information. See Guide for First Time Grandparents and tips on talking to grandkids.
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Grandparents.com
Unique and helpful resource for modern-day grandparents. Find advice and insights on what it's like to be a grandparent today, and how to stay in touch with their world. Want to know what the most popular toys and gifts are for the grandkids? They'll tell you. Also get creative suggestions for kid-friendly activities, travel and entertainment that never disappoint. To always make the most of your time with your grandchildren, spend some time at Grandparents.com!
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Love & Sex
Talk Sex with Sue Johanson
The talk of the town. The very popular television sex expert, Sue Johanson, provides honest, candid, no-holds barred sexual advice. Read up on the latest in sexual health news. Peruse articles on common sexual concerns, take online personality, love, relationship quizzes and more. Weblinks to national hotlines, books, videos and workshops.
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Dr. Drew
American Board-Certified Physician and Addiction Medicine Specialist provides sound advice on love, relationships, sex and a variety of medical and lifestyle issues. Topics include depression, anxiety, love and more. Dr. Drew is best known as host of the nationally syndicated radio talk show Loveline. Lots of information, articles and advice on a wide array of personal problems and issues.
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LovingYou
Excellent web source for creating and maintaining a romantic relationship. Romantic ideas, tips, hot topics, self-help and advice to stay in love. Learn about breaking up and making up. Lots of downloadable/printable goodies, love poems, quizzes and recipes. Also, gift suggestions, date night ideas and romantic travel destinations. Participate in love forum discussions or join support groups. Make someone happy with a daily love poem and love quote.
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Marriage/Relationship Advisors
Elder Wisdom Circle
Non-profit association of “elders” provides personal advice to everyone. Elder know-how and accumulated wisdom help solve your problems with personalized replies. Get or give advice. Elders can help with most any problem providing a personalized reply to each and every request. Easy to use and totally confidential. Read bios for featured elders, browse recent topics and advice, sign up for newsletter.
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HelpGuide
Non-profit resource for information, advice and sources for mental health, healthy lifestyles, seniors and aging. Helpguide’s series on Mental and Emotional Health has descriptions of disorders and specific suggestions for identifying problems and treating them. Useful information on adult love relationships, marriage counseling, communication skills, cognitive behavior therapy, family therapy and group therapy. Includes resources and links to Psychological and Psychiatric Associations.
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My Therapy.Net
Talk to them. Online communication between you and licensed psychologists, psychotherapists, social workers, psychiatrists and counselors. E-Therapy provides services to people who suffer from depression, anxiety, stress, family issues, eating disorders, self-esteem issues and other mental health issues. Also, mental health services for people who are busy, homebound, live in rural areas, parents with young children, etc. Background checks on all therapists who practice from website, includes their license numbers and states of licensure along with their biographical information.
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American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) website is a comprehensive source for information about family therapy and other family-related issues. Find books articles, audiotapes, and information on family problems and family therapy. Learn about the variety of problems facing today’s families, Use the therapist locator to find a marriage and family therapist in the U.S., Canada or overseas. Keep up to date with current research from professionals involved with the problems, needs and changing patterns of couples and family relationships.
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Networking
Classmates
If looking for an old friend or classmate, this site offers a host of online features. You can easily network with classmates, join in a variety of topic forums and search for reunions at your former schools. Find long lost friends, register and complete an online profile. Provide information on your school and graduation year to find an online member list that matches your profile. Member lists include names of registered classmates from your graduating class. With over 40 million registered members, this website is the perfect place to find anyone. Free registration.
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Mashable
Highly used social networking news site. Provides all the best links to social related sites, as well as, the latest news about them.
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Parenting/Raising Teenagers
FamilyTLC
Parent-child relationship advice, information, tips, and how-to’s. Comprehensive resource for age appropriate child development. Helpful articles on a wide variety of family matters. Select children’s age for family activity suggestions such as games, sports, cooking, and books. See Parent Child Dialogues for topic tips on friends, personal hygiene, parties, homework, money and commitments.
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Child Development Institute
http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/parenting/teens.shtmlRecommended by the American Psychological Association, this is a comprehensive resource on child development. Practical suggestions for parents on child development, child psychology, parenting, learning health and safety. Timely topics on physical, mental and emotional growth in children and teenagers. Build your parenting skills while providing structure and encouragement for children of all ages. Positive parenting tips to build self-esteem and self-discipline. Parenting guidelines for how to help teenagers reach their full potential and cope with life issues.
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The Partnership for a Drug Free America
The Partnership for a Drug Free America provides tips for raising drug-free teens. Learn current drug and alcohol trends and dangers, stay informed about prescription drug abuse, and get strategies and suggestions for talking to teens. Read the latest research on emerging drugs and over-the-counter medicines. Influence your child to make healthy, drug-free choices. Download free brochures to help prevent drug use in teens. Connect with other parents, post on bulletin boards, see FAQ’s and advice from professionals.
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