Technology can be incredibly helpful; it can offer insights, shortcuts and can make us laugh. But it can also be an enormous waste of time. That downloaded app may require hours only to find out it doesn’t work well. That website you visit may be clunky and out of date.

We wanted to help sort out the best that the Internet and apps have to offer parents. Here’s a list of our favorite websites and apps for parents, based on recommendations from staff and local parents.

General parenting

Motherlode http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com

This New York Times parenting blog includes posts about current research, new books and interesting takes on all manner of parenting — with many first-person stories on topics from adoption and blended families to traveling with tots. Comments on blogs can often bring out the worst in people, but on this site the comments are often as insightful as the posts themselves. It’s parenting chatter, but elevated.

Simple Mom simplemom.net

This website is produced by a local mom, Tsh Oxenreider, but its reach and focus goes way beyond Central Oregon while still being entirely relevant for local parents. The site offers helpful tips and ideas for simplifying daily life, how-to home makeover projects and lots of information about parenting. Recent topics include: Less is more, working from home and simplifying a closet.

Baby Center www.babycenter.com

Baby Center is one of the most popular parenting websites for a reason. The topics, from pregnancy to parenting tweens, are exhaustive, with articles on teething, potty training, sleeping, discipline and more. Parents can sign up to receive weekly emails about a child’s growth and development (starting with a mom’s pregnancy). The site also features lively community forums to interact with other parents.

PBS Parents pbs.org/parents

A companion to PBS Kids, this site offers a wealth of info for parents on a wide range of topics. There are healthy recipes, craft ideas to do with kids and lots of information about education and child development.

Organizational

Intuition: Mom’s Assistant iPhone and iPad app “Intution”

Grocery lists, kids’ activities, to-do lists and calendars are combined in this handy app. Its simple design is intended to help streamline organizational tasks for busy moms (Dads can use it, too.).

ChorePad www.chorepadweb.com; iPhone and iPad app “ChorePad”

This app, which costs $2.99 for iPad or $4.99 for iPhone, is a chore organizer and reward system. The design is easy to use and colorful. Kids can earn stars for chores well done, which can translate to rewards that parents select.

Entertainment

Common Sense Media www.commonsense media.org; iPhone and iPad app “Kids Media”

The centerpiece to the website and app is a catalog of more than 18,000 reviews of content to help parents figure out which TV shows, movies, apps, websites, books and more are appropriate for their children. The nonprofit group offers objective information about the content (nudity, profanity, violence, etc.) while also answering the basic question: Is this any good? The site and app are both free.

Together Time with Song and Rhyme for Parent and Preschooler Play iPad app

This interactive app features songs for toddlers, preschoolers and elementary-aged students. Kids and parents can sing along, learn hand gestures to go with the songs, read lyrics and more with this app featuring familiar and lesser-known songs.

Educational for kids

ABCYA www.abcya.com

A local kindergarten teacher recommended this website because it is packed with educational games and activities. Parents can check out numerous free educational computer games and activities the site offers for elementary-aged kids. It also links to numerous educational apps for kids.

Great websites for kids gws.ala.org

Ever wonder which websites are good for kids? There is so much out there online, it can be hard to sort all of it. This site from the American Library Association does the vetting for you. It offers tons of entertaining and educational links, with sites divided into categories based on area of interest such as animals, arts, history, math, sciences and so on. The site also offers picks for top websites for parents and teachers.

Fred Rogers Center Early Learning Environment ele.fredrogerscenter.org

This website is designed to connect parents and other caregivers with games, activities, e-books, videos and songs for children 5 and younger. The focus is on early literacy. Parents can search for activities based on a child’s age, type of activity and media type. Some of the links connect parents to videos with familiar characters from Sesame Street, for instance, while others offer written tips for parents or suggest helpful apps.

Scholastic’s Storia www.scholastic.com; Android, iPad, Windows and Kindlefire app “Storia”

Scholastic, long known as a go-to source for books for children, has branched out to create an e-reader aimed at kids. This app is free and comes with five e-books. It also has some kid-friendly interactive features.

Local

Bend Moms for Moms www.bendmomsformoms.com

Want a recommendation for a local kid-friendly dentist? Looking to set up a playdate with parents of 3-year-olds? This website run by a local mom is the place to connect for Central Oregon moms. The site includes a forum to discuss all sorts of topics, active special interest groups and much more.

Working Mom Goes Green www.workingmom goesgreen.com

Several local parents recommended this site, by local mom Shannon Hinderberger. It features tips, product reviews and more about green living and raising a family in Central Oregon.

Health

Kids Health www.kidsheath.org

The goal of this website is to offer accurate and easily understandable health information to parents, teens, teachers and kids. It is produced by The Nemours Foundation’s Center for Children’s Health Media. It features articles about medical issues as well as topics related to behavior and development. The website offers three portals of entry, based on the audience, so articles are targeted for parents, teens or children.

American Red Cross Android or iPhone app “First Aid”

This free app offers step-by-step instructions, complete with diagrams, for a variety of first aid scenarios, which makes it ideal for parents. It also includes quizzes, videos and other interactive features. Because much of the content is preloaded, it does not require the Internet to work, making it useful for hiking and camping trips.

WebMD www.webmd.com; iPhone, iPad and Android app “WebMD”

This trusted website has solid medical information. The free app allows individuals to look up symptoms, first-aid tips and much more.

Inside

More parent-approved apps and websites for health issues, education, local networking or for just plain fun, Page D3