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Whether you're a parent or a teenager, at least once in your life you'll probably have to endure "The Talk" -- the acutely embarrassing hour or two in which a teen's parents impart to him or her the nitty-gritty about Love. The Internet can't do much about the discomfort associated with this event, but it can help with the information. There are a number of love ed sites for both teens and parents; here's the run-down on which ones you can trust.

Sites For Parents

Looking for advice on what to

tell your teens? At Parent Soup's Parents of Teens Community you can talk to other parents about how they handle The Talk, and check out a variety of articles and Q&A sessions related to teens . You'll also want to subscribe to the free newsletter. The National Parenting Center's ParenTalk Newsletter on Teen-Agers is archived online, offering several articles written by experts about the topic, from what teens really need to know to what to do if your kid's already having  love.

Sites For Teens

When it comes to love sites geared toward teens, things get a bit dicier. The problem is that love ed websites vary widely in terms of their moral attitudes toward teen love, so it's tough to find ones appropriate for everyone. Wait Trainer, for instance, is devoted to promoting teen abstinence, with lists of reasons for abstaining and resources for parents and churches. The Coalition for Positive Loveuality, on the other hand, is devoted to conveying information free of moral judgment; it's got a lot of content, but it's extremely explicit and graphic.

Some of the more "balanced" sites we can recommend are Puberty 101 and Girlspace, both of which are excellent, easy-to-understand guides to the puberty process. The teen-produced Love Etc. offers the facts on both abstinence and contraception.

Clearly the most thorough site on loveuality is Planned Parenthood, which offers excellent, age-appropriate explanations of the basics, from the body changes that take place in puberty -- with supplemental pages on the different changes that girls and boys experience -- to how pregnancy happens. The section on feeling good about growing up covers so much, it's difficult to think of anything that might be left out. Diagrams of the loveual organs, what determines a baby's gender, what the difference between love and desire -- it's all in there. Worried about the spin Planned Parenthood puts on all this terrific content? Here's what the site says: "Love can be exciting, satisfying, caring, and rewarding -- especially when we plan ahead and wait until we're ready for it. If we know what we're doing, and if we stay in charge, we can help ourselves feel good about growing up."

Planned Parenthood's dating and relationships section includes sections on respect and responsibility, peer pressure, Love like orientation and healthy and unhealthy relationships. And for those who choose to become  phychical active, the site offers tips on staying healthy and what to do if you're pregnant.

None of these are going to take the place of your love ed class -- or your parents, of course -- but they're all informative and useful.