The Top 50 Parenting Blogs of 2015

As parents ourselves here at Famous Parenting, we strive to find the best parenting articles on the web all year long. We don’t want to read only posts from dads or moms or read parenting blogs that only focus on food or crafts. We want it all. That’s why Famous Parenting was started.

To help make finding the best parenting content online easy, we’re again publishing our list of the Top 50 Parenting Blogs of the year. It differs a bit from the 2014 list for one main reason: New ownership.

Last year was a tough one for Famous Parenting. As you might have been able to tell by a hiatus early in the year and a return in summer, the site is under new ownership and is back to publishing daily again.

Our likes and dislikes may differ a little from the previous owner’s and last year’s list, so you may notice some differences with the 2015 list of our Top Parenting Blogs.

Some of the parenting blogs from the 2014 list have either stopped producing, changed direction, or post so irregularly that we didn’t consider them for 2015.

We reviewed our 2014 list and some didn’t make it to the 2015 list because they started offering way too many product reviews that looked like ads — not that there’s anything wrong with ads — but if the first glance of a site offers more products and giveaways than posts on parenting, then we’ll pass.

Some parenting blogs from our 2014 list we really miss and hope they return to writing. You may not agree with the 2015 list, and that’s a good thing. It shows that there’s a wide selection of parenting blogs out there, and subjective opinions can differ. And remember, that’s just what this is — a subjective list that isn’t definitive but should still be a good jumping-off point for collecting the best parenting blogs of the year.

All are parenting blogs we read regularly. Among the many more we read each week to curate the best content for you are parenting blogs that didn’t quite make our list.

Some may need more time to reach their potential, and we encourage fans and owners of such sites to drop us a line about their favorite posts and submit posts that we should feature.

If you think we missed an awesome parenting blog, please post it in the comments section below. And if you’re on this list feel free to brag on your site that you’re one of the best parenting blogs of 2015.

Top 50 Parenting Blogs of 2015

Here are the Top 50 Parenting Blogs of 2015, with a short explanation of why we like each one so much, and links to their sites and their Twitter handles. The blogs are listed in alphabetical order:

8 Bit Dad

8 Bit Dad is more than just a bunch of geeky dads writing about the best tech toys they buy for their children — and ultimately themselves.

The site’s many authors write about parenthood in a funny way that tells it like it is. The site claims it is updated almost daily, giving readers an almost daily reason to check it out daily.

A fun read.

Twitter: @8BitDads

Amalah

Along with the many other parenting blogs she writes for, Amy has kept Amalah up and running since 2003 as a way forum for her daily navel-gazing. At least that’s how she puts it.

While the blog has the look of a relic, Amy fills it with interesting posts and photos that give an insight into her daily life as a mom.

And it’s an interesting place to visit from time to time, with enough humor to keep you coming back.

Twitter: @amalah

The Art of Simple

A parenting blog that has a managing editor and staff of a dozen writers doesn’t at first sound like an independent parenting blog by a mom or dad that’s scrambled together at the end of the day after the kids are put to bed.

The Art of Simple, however, still has that solo-entrepreneur feel that we aim to gather from the parenting blogosphere.

Tish started the site and it has evolved into a community of people who live unconditionally. We support simple living, and this site tackles it from the standpoint of parents and families — though it does look at different angles such as travel and work.

While the parenting posts are worthwhile to read on their own, many other posts on living simply are worth reading too — all from 12 writers with many ideas on how to live holistically.

Twitter: @tsh

The Artful Parent

With a vow to provide simple ways to fill your family’s life with art and creativity, Jean Van’t Hul of The Artful Parent delivers with plenty of photos and easy instructions in posts throughout her blog.

With her two daughters to experiment on, they provide enough art projects to keep any family busy. The site also sells books about its art projects.

It’s a great place to start if you’re looking for something to keep the kids, and yourself, busy and turn a drab day into one full of making art together.

Twitter: @ArtfulParent

Ask Your Dad

Week in and week out, Ask Your Dad has interesting posts on fatherhood and looks at it interesting and fun ways that most parents may not think of.

John Kinnear is a blogger in Utah who doesn’t necessarily want to be the dad who has every answer for every question his kids throw at him, but he at least tries and gets the conversation going.

Getting the question asked is the main point, he says. We agree with that.

Kinnear also writes about technology, though we haven’t started reading his tech blog yet. We suspect it’s a fun read, too.

Twitter: @askdadblog

Big Mama

Just as we expect happens with many parenting blogs, Big Mama started as a blog that the owner thought would last a week.

For Melanie, that was in July 2006 when she started Big Mama, a parenting blog that has turned into an informative, fun place that we think is worth checking out weekly. Or daily, depending on your schedule.

Either way, Melanie has plenty of good tales to tell, and we almost always find a post that’s often a quick read but still finds a way to be insightful and touching.

Twitter: @BigMama

Chasing Rainbows

Chasing Rainbows is another great read from a mom about being a parent. Kate started the blog as a journal of her son’s life when he was in the hospital, mainly as a way to keep her family updated.

Gavin, one of her two sons, is disabled, and her non-traditional blog tells of her family’s struggles and progress.

It’s a chance to look in on some unexpected miracles as their life moves along.

Twitter: @kateleong

Dad Blog UK

John Adams of Dad Blog UK is a stay-at-home dad with two young children. His blog focuses on equality, family finances, men’s style, days out, and photography.

Adams also adds in some fiction. If those topics appeal to you, as they do to us, then Dad Blog UK is an interesting place to go.

His work as a former journalist is partly what caught our eye, with excellent story-telling technique and some great photographs too.

Twitter: @dadbloguk

Dad and Buried

Dad and Buried bills itself as the anti-parenting blog. That’s true in some respects, but mostly it’s a great parenting blog that’s an interesting read and is full of topics you’re unlikely to find elsewhere.

He also admits what many bloggers won’t: he doesn’t pretend to know what he’s writing about. There’s no such thing as a parenting expert, he writes.

His blog is simply just a place to complain about his son. That may be true, but it’s still a fun blog to read and there’s some good advice to find there if you look for it.

Twitter: @DadandBuried

The Daddy Complex

There’s nothing complex about The Daddy Complex, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth a quick look at every week.

Within minutes, you can scan what’s there and either get a quick laugh or parental insight and move on, or you’ll find something else on the Internet to grab your attention.

We’re betting that a weekly visit to The Daddy Complex by David Vienna, the father of twins, will give you enough reason to return.

Whether it’s his short posts on topics such as how Dora isn’t really an “explorer” if she travels through mapped territories that was originally posted elsewhere, or photos of his kids, it’s a blog worth checking out.

Twitter: @thedaddycomplex

The Daddy Files

The Daddy Files is new to our list this year, started by dad Aaron Gouveia after he couldn’t find a support and networking site for fathers.

His posts offer great insight into what it’s like being a dad and look at how his son reacts to things in ways you might not have considered before.

Twitter: @DaddyFiles

Daddy Types

We can’t quite put a finger on it, but Daddy Types catches our eye enough that we think it’s a parenting blog worth checking out at least weekly.

It’s not the greatest looking blog, and it doesn’t have a whole lot of parenting advice or tales about how blogger Greg Allen is getting along as a dad.

Meant as a blog for new dads, what it does best is offer humorous takes on parenting news, thanks in part to reader submissions of interesting parenting tidbits.

Daddy Types also does a fantastic job of directing dads to new and interesting toys their child might enjoy, with a slight lean toward practical and educational toys you probably won’t find at a chain store.

The posts are often short with links to original sources, providing a digest worth going through each week to see if anything catches your eye.

Twitter: @daddytypes

Dadmissions

Dadmissions is TV journalist Pete Wilgoren’s view of the world from a guy who is outnumbered by his wife and two daughters.

He shares news and tidbits from his family life that give a warm insight into how to be a good dad.

A lot of his posts are heartfelt, which we consider a good thing, and should be checked out at least once a week for essays that will explain what it means to be a parent.

Twitter: @Dadmissions

Dads Round Table

Dads Round Table offers a weekly round table discussion through a weekly Twitter chat. While not revolutionary, its chats give readers a different way to enter the discussion.

The site aims to be a gathering place where parents can learn and be heard, which in our view, is a top lesson for parents and children.

The site also covers many topics, including publishing “good news” stories when it can.

Twitter: @DadsRoundTable

Design Mom

Design Mom says it’s the intersection of design and motherhood. If that doesn’t make sense, check out the blog for tips on how to make your home beautiful and kid-friendly — two things that may not always go together.

Like many of our top parenting blogs, the excellent photos on Design Mom help tremendously in telling the story and show readers that it’s possible to have kids and a neat home.

But be careful, her Home Tours section may only inspire envy.

Twitter: @designmom

Enjoying The Small Things

As the mother of a daughter with Down syndrome, Kelle Hampton writes in Enjoying The Small Things about that journey.

She celebrates the things that make us different with tales of her daughter. She’s also the mother of four other children, keeping her busy and full of topics to write about.

In what she calls her “online couch,” Kelle puts photos and words together in a parenting blog that’s heartfelt and informative.

Twitter: @KelleHampton

Family Focus Blog

Scarlet Paolicchi is a stay-at-home mother of two in Nashville, and her blog Family Focus Blog covers a lot of ground well: family activities, food, eco trips, family travel, and others.

One of the things we like best about her blog is a focus on things for parents to do to keep their lives interesting and not just have their only identity tied to their children.

It’s a good idea to get out of the house from time to time and have your own hobbies as a parent, and this site helps with occasional posts in this area.

And as fans of parenting sites that offer great food and family vacation tips, we’re visiting often to see what Scarlet has to offer.

Twitter: @familyfocusblog

First Time Mom and Dad

First Time Mom and Dad, or FTM&D for short, has a lot of funny first-time parenting mistakes that every parent has probably made. If not, they’re lucky and should count their blessings as they read what FTM&D has done.

The story of how bloggers April and her husband met is interesting enough, and they keep the site full of great tales of raising a kid as first-time parents. Fun stuff, all the way around.

Twitter: @LoveLifeDIY

Free-Range Kids

Free-Range Kids hits home runs every week on an important topic: Raising safe, self-reliant children.

It also aims to ease the stress of worrying yourself to death over it. From helicopter parents to kids who are TOO range-free, Lenore Skenazy offers great insight into raising kids who can take care of themselves.

Like many parent bloggers, she’s a believer in the bigger parenting community and gives parents a lot less to worry about.

Twitter: @FreeRangeKids

GeekDad

We probably don’t need to go into all of the great stuff for parents at GeekDad, a blog started in 2006 that has won numerous accolades.

But if you’re a parent who doesn’t know much about tech and how your children are using it, GeekDad can help with informative, original articles to make your home and life more tech-friendly.

Twitter: @GeekDads

GeekMom

Yes, GeekMom is related to GeekDad, and yes, GeekMom is basically a standalone business that is so big that other parenting blogs can’t compare to it in size and scope with their single-site owners blogging about their daily struggles as parents.

But just like we’re fans of GeekDad, we’re also fans of GeekMom.  With a staff of more than 30, the site has the resources that many others don’t.

But we’re not holding that against GeekMom, who regularly wows us with her outstanding DIY birthday party ideas, product reviews, and insight into what toys our kids want before we even have a clue about them otherwise.

Twitter: @GeekMomBlog

Hands Free Mama

Rachel Macy Stafford is the mom behind Hands Free Mama, and she writes about what matters to her. These topics include her daughters, husband, teaching, encouraging others, and her faith.

Holding on to what matters, she writes, is what gives life meaning. If you want to hear the joys of laughter instead of the buzzing of cell phones, Hands Free Mama is a good place to start.

Twitter: @handsfreemama

Heather Drive

Heather Drive is full of regular updates by Heather, a mother of two beautiful girls who make the blog shine. Their smiles are enough reason to visit regularly.

The posts are often long and full of excellent photos and details of what Heather and her children have been doing lately, including some DIY projects that look fun and worth doing.

One of her daughters recently started kindergarten, so anyone with children in that grade will probably benefit from checking out Heather Drive from here out for ideas on how to get through it.

Twitter: @heatherkj

How To Be A Dad

Despite its name, How To Be A Dad really isn’t an authority on how to be a dad. Its instructional diagrams are meant to be the opposite of “educational” and are worthwhile by themselves to visit the site.

Another high point is things the wives of the two friends who run the site just said. There seems to always be something funny here, giving dads and moms a daily reason to stop by.

We had only found publication dates on the posts, leaving us wondering how old some of this stuff is.

Twitter: @HowToBeADad

I Like Beer and Babies

For sheer fun with some adult humor thrown in, I Like Beer and Babies is a hilarious parenting blog worth reading daily.

With two children, a husband, and a fat cat, this mom has plenty to write about and does it in a way that will make it a daily read you won’t want to miss.

It’s the only — and we mean only — parenting blog whose newsletter we subscribe to because we don’t want to miss it. We follow other parenting blogs in many other ways, but this is the only one we allow in our inbox.

Twitter: @beerandbabies

It’s a Lovely Life

We want the life being led in It’s a Lovely Life. It looks like it’s filled with many trips to Disneyland, movie nights, good food, awesome vacations, fun tech devices to play with, and tips to make any family’s life easier.

For more than 10 years Heather, the mother of three who runs the site, has kept the blog going under different names.

Her story, she says, has remained the same, and we believe her: that family is everything and life are meant for adventures.

Her family’s adventures are definitely worth reading about.

Twitter: @HeatherDReese

Kids Ain’t Cheap

Kids Ain’t Cheap takes the idea that every parent should know about before they have children and become parents, but rarely think about: kids aren’t cheap. But, as parents learn later, the kids are more than worth it.

This blog by Brian and Catherine has plenty of good parenting posts, but where it shines is in its “money” posts that show how kids ain’t cheap and how to get around that.

Even if you aren’t a parent and never plan on being one, the site’s financial tips are worth reading.

Twitter: @kidsaintcheap

Lady and the Blog

Mother of three Vera Sweeney has founded a few blogs, including some on fashion, but we especially like what she does on Lady and the Blog.

She tells her personal stories as a mom in many ways, including videos, that may bring tears occasionally. Tears in a good way.

The site also has plenty of product reviews of kids’ toys and games, giving parents a heads up when a birthday or Christmas approaches.

Twitter: @VeraSweeney

Little Baby Garvin

Again, another mom writes about pregnancy and what happens afterward. Big deal, right?

While not a new idea, Little Baby Garvin is a parenting blog where the mom, Jessica Garvin, writes about motherhood in such a smart way that we’re hooked.

The photos make her home look like something out of a magazine, but it’s the top-notch writing about daily life that really intrigues us.

Twitter: @GarvinandCo

Lunchbox Dad

Lunchbox Dad turns lunches into art. Edible art. Art so good your kid may not want to eat it at school, but will have his or her friends taking photos of it and posting on the Internet.

Even though Bay Area dad Beau Coffron provides pictures and written instructions that make each lunch sound as anyone can do it, anyone who has tried to follow a cookbook with photos in it and still can’t come close to the finished product knows this is next to impossible. At least for us regular folks. Professional chefs, maybe.

Whatever your view, the blog is worth a weekly read — and then you can go back to making boring lunches for your kids.

Twitter: @lunchboxdad

A Mom’s Take

For recipes and crafts that are simple and yummy, A Mom’s Take does an excellent job.

Phoenix mom blogger Janel started the blog in 2010 and it has since grown to four mom bloggers who she lists on the site, along with other contributors.

It’s full of great posts by women sharing their stories. Our favorite topics that the site covers are recipes and the many DIY crafts.

Twitter: @amomstake

Modern Parents Messy Kids

Modern Parents Messy Kids has a large enough staff of eight to give the site some depth and plenty of quality posts.

While we’re not a big fan of big parenting blogs with big staffs — mainly because they can afford to do more and sometimes better work than solo parenting blogs — we especially like this blog for its everyday advice and creative activities. It does a great job with organizational skills, which can be a blessing for parents.

But if that’s not your thing, you can easily skip those posts. Many of its posts are worth reading, giving parents unique ways to tackle common problems without feeling overwhelmed by parenthood.

Twitter: @ModRentMessyKid

Mom Advice

Your mother may offer advice you don’t want to hear, but Mom Advice offers enough good advice on crafts, recipes, frugality, and living a richer life that you’ll want to read her blog every week for tips.

Amy Allen Clark started the site in 2004 as a way to fill an information void she found. With a staff of three, Mom Advice has plenty of advice to keep the site fresh.

If only your mom had so much help in getting her helpful tips out to the public, or at least to you.

Twitter: @momadvice

Mommy Shorts

New York City mom Ilana continues writing unique posts about her two girls at Mommy Shorts.

Her personal stories are the main reason to read her blog, but she keeps it interesting and interactive with giveaways, photo contests and comment competitions.

All of that extra work adds to the quality and quantity of the blog, providing plenty of good reading and some topics you probably won’t find anywhere else.

Twitter: @mommyshorts

Money Saving Mom

Admittedly, we’re not a big fan of coupon sites, mainly because they’re often full of things we have no interest of buying. Money Saving Mom, however, is in a niche we support: parenting.

Crystal Paine, the mother of three, finds the best deals and has been blogging about how her family is so frugal since 2006.

Her small army of staff helps her find the best deals, which readers can breeze through in a few minutes any day of the week to see if any tips are of interest.

Twitter: @MoneySavingMom

One Dad 3 Girls

One Dad 3 Girls has some of the best photos we’ve seen on a parenting blog — or any blog, for that matter — making it worth checking out every week.

They tell the story of Darren, a dad with two daughters in England. He chronicles their lives and offers a bit of melancholy as they grow up.

Even if you aren’t a parent, it’s a blog worth going to every week just for the inspiration of getting to the UK for a visit. Spend an hour pouring through the site’s photos and you won’t regret it.

Our Ordinary Life

Kristin, the mother of three girls, writes Our Ordinary Life in part so her children can go back and read it and know exactly how their mom thought about them during every point in their lives.

That may seem a bit overwhelming, but she does such a good job at it that we think it’s a worthwhile read for any parent.

She clearly enjoys blogging about her family and includes a lot of recipes to help families make meals together that are nutritious and fun.

Twitter: @OurOrdinaryLife

Outnumbered 3 to 1

Outnumbered 3 to 1 was launched by Melissa in 2009, and since 2011 she has had a team of writers help her with the blog.

With a house full of boys, Melissa does a great job with plenty of posts about crafts and recipes.

The site has an especially interesting selection of technology gadget posts and looks to be updated regularly so that readers always have something to look forward to.

Twitter: @OutnumberedMama

Out With The Kids

Jeff Bogle started Out With The Kids to be more than just another daddy blog. We think he’s succeeded.

His passion for music is shared throughout the blog and in his podcast, and he writes about topics you might not have considered were worth reading on a parenting blog, though he makes them worth reading and discussing.

And as a bonus for anyone in Philadelphia, he occasionally writes about parenting events in that city.

Twitter: @OWTK

Parent Hacks

We swear we’re not trying to turn this list into a “best minimalists” list, but Parent Hacks does such a great job of making parents’ lives easier that we still feel it belongs in our top 50 parenting blogs because some of its hacks are smart and unusual enough that they’re worth considering for many families.

It’s written by Asha, a parent of two children in Portland, Ore., who is also working on writing some books. She’s been sharing hacks since 2005 and sharing tips from parents on how to make their lives easier.

Not every hack is worth implementing for everyone, but her blog is worth checking out weekly just to see if it has something that could fit your life.

Twitter: @ashadornfest

Penniless Parenting

Visually, Penniless Parenting may not look like much as a blog, but Penny writes about staying home with two children so well that it’s her tales that draw us in.

As a mother with a strict family budget, she writes a lot about saving money, especially in the kitchen. We salute her for that.

But the other topics she covers are just as interesting, and many are long posts that go beyond the 500-word limit of some parenting blogs.

The site is also full of great recipes, with a focus on gluten-free, giving her frugality more meaning as she shows readers how to feed a family healthy meals for less.

Twitter: @pennilessparent

Pregnant Chicken

While maybe not technically a parenting blog because it focuses on pregnancy, Pregnant Chicken is in our estimation a parenting blog that does a great job blogging about pregnancy and what happens afterward when that little chick is hatched.

The site’s founder, Amy Morrison, has five people working on the site with her, keeping it full of fresh content showing the sunny side of pregnancy and parenthood.

If you’re pregnant and not reading Pregnant Chicken, you’re missing out on some funny and enlightening stuff.

Twitter: @pregnant chicken

The Proud Parents

Let’s get this out of the way right from the start: The Proud Parents isn’t full of insightful posts about what it’s like raising children.

We’re not even going to pretend that it has a higher calling, especially with the many photos of what we assume are college-age girls in bikinis.

But what the site does do well is showcase parenting fails, such as mothers taking pictures of themselves in underwear with their children in the background.

It’s not for everyone, but the parenting fails might be enough to make you look in once in a while for a good laugh.

Twitter: @ParentFails

Rage Against the Minivan

Rage Against the Minivan was started in 2006 by Kristen, the mother of four children within four years via birth and adoption.

We like her blog for many reasons, but most notably for her crafts tips. She also writes unique posts on being a parent and has plenty of excellent guest posts on the site.

Her personal tales alone are worth a weekly visit.

Twitter:@kristenhowerton

Single Dad Laughing

Dan Pearce of Single Dad Laughing says he has a lot of fun being a dad, and we believe him. His blog is full of fun stories of how he’s parenting his son.

The topics are often funny and the photos are some of the funniest ones we’ve seen on parenting blogs. His style of humor may not be for everyone, but we’re betting it’s right for most people.

Definitely worth giving a try.

Twitter: @danoah

SouleMama

Family homesteader Amanda Blake Soule is a mother of five in Maine who has photos and posts on SouleMama that are so enjoyable that we have difficulty describing them here.

She writes about things they make and has wonderful photos with each post that are strong encouragement for getting your kids out and trying them.

Some posts are short, but the strong photos more than makeup for it with a message that gets across easily.

Twitter: @AmandaSoule

Suitcases and Sippy Cups

A family that travels the world sounds like a good TV show.

Suitcases and Sippy Cups has turned it into an excellent blog, traveling the globe and filling the rest of us in on their adventures and how we can do it too. Or at least how we can try.  They do all of this while homeschooling their children.

The blog has a lot of great ideas, and we’ll bet there’s something there you haven’t thought of when planning a trip with your children.

Twitter:@SCasesandSCups

Tech Savvy Mama

As the mother of two and a former teacher with a background in classroom technology integration, Leticia has plenty of experience to make Tech Savvy Mama a great blog, which is why we like it so much.

It’s a tech site for parents from a blogger who has more than just parenting skills in her arsenal. She keeps the site updated regularly, keeping parents in the loop on the best tech for their children.

If you only have time for one tech blog that you hope will help you as a parent, this is it.

Twitter: @techsavvymama

Uplifting Families

Uplifting Families provides something every parent probably needs: Daily encouragement.

It may not sound like a lot, but its tips are practical and give readers a reason to come back daily for more.

The blog not only encourages parents to continue tumbling through life with children but shows them how to do it better and make life easier for everyone.

The blog is as uplifting as its name says it is.

Twitter: @upliftingfam