Thanks to the Internet, today’s parents have many more resources available to them than parents did 10-15 years ago, especially families that don’t fit the traditional mold.

Billed as “an irreverent, inclusive, alternative parenting community,” the social network Offsprung provides forums for parents to discuss the unique problems of a diverse range of family types. The site features blogs, forums, links to recommended books and music, and a place to buy, sell, and trade all that stuff you can’t find or don’t need anymore.

With the reassuring tagline, “Your Life Didn’t End When Theirs Began,” Offsprung is a site for grown-ups that happen to have kids, rather than parents who only want to talk about their kids. It aims to be inclusive, with a particular focus on feminist parents, LGBTQ parents, minorities and interracial parents, stepparents, single parents, and adoptive parents. Parents of all stripes, even those who consider themselves pretty “normal,” will find valuable support as well as entertainment in forum discussions that range from politics (“Love, friendship, and radically different political views”) to health (“If they poop in the tub do they still count as clean?”).

Offsprung is a breath of fresh air amid the “My-child-is-not-eating-his-vegetables” blogs and commercially sponsored Web sites for parents. It’s always nice to know that there is someone out there that’s as weird as you.