Which magazines do you subscribe to? (Parents/Parenting, etc)

[flagger]

Not that anyone has the time to read them, but since Ms. Flagger has started investigating the various periodicals available, I thought I would post it to the posters here.

I like the style of Parents, but Parenting had some good articles for April. They all seem to have the same articles over time however. I do notice the adverts target different income levels in each of the magazines.

What are your thoughts. They are not really big investments, but between Cooking Light, Southern Living, Martha Stewart we must have more magazines taking up our mailbox. ;)

[parkersmama]

Between Parents & Parenting it is almost a toss-up. I used to like Parents better but a year or two ago Parenting revamped and now I like it too. You're definitely right that they eventually end up running the same articles/info. I guess of those two, I'd have to give Parents the slight advantage. They seem to have better things like Halloween costume ideas, b'day party ideas, etc. (You'll soon see how important these things become! LOL!) My favorite magazine right now though would have to be Child. It is targeted to a slightly more affluent reader (which I am not necessarily) but I enjoy the slant of their articles. They are a little more edgy and liberal. Parents/Parenting are for the most mainstream of parents. Child goes slightly more out there. Mothering is definitely the most liberal/granola one available. I like it, too, but don't subscribe to all their philosophies and only read it occasionally. There are other good magazines out there but I think these are the main ones. In true goofy-mom fashion (and avid reader that I am) I subscribe to Parents, Parenting, and Child (Hey, I got a good deal!). I feel like I'm in "Real Confessions"...LOL! I don't usually admit my magazine fetish to many people! :-)

[flagger]

Well rats, I missed that this topic came up not took long ago.

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dcforum/DCForumID30/726.html

Oh well, I blame it all on the fumes from the staining and polycoating the last two days. Yeah that is it. ;)

I glanced through "Mothering", but it didn't mesh with our ideas on parenting. I am all about doing research but abhor militancy. Our way or the highway has never appealed to me and sadly that is how "Mothering" struck me. I am happy that it works for others though.

[AngelaS]

LOL at the 'militancy' comment regarding Mothering. That's a great word for it!

I like Parents. I used to get both Parents and Parenting. Over time I found that Parenting was too liberal for my views. Parents offers practical advice on child raising, whereas I felt Parenting was more 'just let kids be, they'll change as they grow'. LOL JMHO

Another one I LOVE is Family Fun. It isn't the same genre of magazine, but it has some really fun ideas! We find at least 3 or 4 activities to do from every magazine. And they have great kid friendly recipes!

[ddmarsh]

I think I responded to this in the previous thread on this but I too just love Family Fun.

Debbie

[egoldber]

Well, the only magazines I subscribe to are Bon Appetit and Threads. ;)

That being said, I don't really like ANY of the parenting magazines out there for various reasons. I have not seen Child, I may have to look at that one, but I think that Parents and Parenting are worthless. They give the same info over and over and it is all packaged as to be worthless. Everything is "OK" and nothing is "wrong" it is just all in how you do things...

Maybe it's me, but I really prefer info that says "90% of studies show that doing X gives the best results for your baby" or "Doing X doesn't really provide and additional benefit for your baby".

I like to browse through Mothering. While the magazine is not for everyone, if you are interested in cloth diapering, extended breastfeeding, slings and babywearing, etc. it is really the only game in town. The other magazines seldom if ever mention these topics. These are things that I am interested in and I consider myself to be fairly mainstream. :) And I guess I find their militant stance to be better than the wishy-washiness that characterizes the other magazines, because they don't dare anger their primary advertisers.

As Sarah gets older something like Family Fun might be nice to have.

HTH,

[momathome]

I've gotten Parents and Parenting for years, but I'm not a huge fan of Dr. Sear's in Parenting - just don't agree with a lot of his views. I love Child Magazine - I think this is my current favorite!
-Lauren

[flagger]

I guess my militancy comment came from reading through the latest Mothering magazines this weekend. Some of the articles led us to believe we would be a bad parents if we didn't co-sleep, or practice all the principles of AP.

I have similar problems with some members of LLL blaming the mother for not being able to breastfeed. Nothing like adding guilt to an already tired, cranky, stressed mommy. For the record I do think LLL is wonderful, but I have seen some examples of some members being less than wonderful.

A year's subscription to both was only $10. If we don't like it, we let it drop after a year. I doubt we will have time to read them anyway after the baby is born. We have certainly wasted $20 on other things over the years. ;)

Thanks for everyone's input.

[anna lisa]

Right now I'm enjoying American Baby and Baby Talk for free. Does anyone know how long they send this to you? I really like them and they have lots of info beyond just pregnancy. I believe they have articles on babies up to 1yr.

Right now, these are my favorites.

[egoldber]

LOL! I've been getting American Baby for free since Sarah was born. I have no idea how or why!

[mharling]

I just received an issue of American Baby and noticed that my last name is spelled wrong. About halfway through my pregnancy, I discovered that Motherhood Maternity had my name in their system spelled incorrectly. The spelling on the magazine and Motherhood's incorrect spelling are the same.

Fortunately for me, I can now tell anything that is coming as a result of shopping at Mothermood! Don't know if your getting yours because of shopping at Motherhood or any of its 'affiliates', but it certainly sounds like a possibility.

Mary
EDD 4/5/03

[parkersmama]

I totally agree with you, Beth, about the "can't make anyone mad at us, cover our a**es" approach of both Parents and Parenting. Child is somewhat like that, too, but for some reason I like it better right now. As far as the same old info, I have found that as I have additional children, I've forgotten some of the tips on discipline for toddlers or how to swaddle, etc. I used to tear out articles to keep but then that just got so burdensome trying to sort and keep up with that I stopped. The repeats of the same old subjects do help those of us going the 2nd or 3rd time around who are suffering from extreme mommy brain!! LOL! Now, the only articles that I do tear out and keep are the ones they run with b'day party ideas and Halloween costume ideas. I really DO go back and use those!!