We are a family who loves periodicals. Magazines here, magazines there, magazines….everywhere. They rule our newspaper basket and monthly, in piles, take it over by force. I do read online mags, but there is just something about holding the glossy pages in ones’ hands. (And yes, I do recycle them….or pass along to friends….when I’m done.)
Our 5-year-old son has, within the past year, begun receiving magazines of his very own. He receives the free Lego magazine, Highlights High Five, and Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse Jr. (all of which I highly recommend). It’s just OH. SO. EXCITING. when something comes in the mail with HIS name on it. He grabs it out of the mail pile, runs up to his room with a flashlight (be it light or dark outside), hunkers down, and pores over each new issue.
Reminds me of how I used to be with Barbie magazines when I was a girl. I didn’t subscribe, but my best friend, Christy, did. Whenever I stayed over at her house, we’d obediently turn off the lights at bedtime, giggling mischieviously knowing that we’d stashed back issues of Barbie magazines and a flashlight for each, ready to be unveiled as soon as her mom told us goodnight and shut the door. (Recently running across this photoset made me remember these times even more fondly.)
I fully intend to subscribe to magazines strictly for girls for our 3-year-old daughter…when she gets a little older. For now, she’s pleasantly adhering to her brothers’ stash, loving the new issues almost as much as he does.
Yet part of me wants to find a magazine that’s a little more girly….a little more fancy….a little more “frilly,” for lack of a better word, for her to enjoy. One day, yes, I know I’ll write off for American Girl Magazine and Brio, as well. But what is there for her now? Barbie magazine is pretty obscure….is it even in print anymore? And the last issue I spotted seemed awfully tween-centric.
Tell me….are there any appropriate (read: wholesome) magazines out there geared towards girls under 5 (or even under 7)? If you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear your ideas and experiences!
(Head over to We Are THAT Family to help others with their own quandaries!)
Subscribe by RSS
Young Wife (2 years ago)
The only girls magazine I could think of was American Girl. Maybe she would enjoy looking at the Pleasant Company catalog? They have baby dolls as well as the American Girls. I don’t know. Maybe that would just make her want expensive toys?
Elizabeth (2 years ago)
I don’t know about younger kids, but I just learned about this magazine geared for girls 10 and up that looks really neat.
http://girlhoodhomecompanion.com/
Michie (2 years ago)
Cricket Magazines has a lot of them – Babybug starts for children at 6 months, and Ladybug looks like it is for the 2-6 age group. http://www.cricketmag.com//ProductList.aspx?type=M
National Geographic also has magazines for young for very young children: http://kidsblogs.nationalgeographic.com/littlekids/
There’s also Your Big Backyard and Animal Baby for young kids, with Ranger Rick being for slightly older kids: https://w1.buysub.com/pubs/NW/JFF/0907_NWFControl_google.jsp?cds_page_id=66458&cds_mag_code=JFF&s_src=GoogleAdWords_Toggle&s_subsrc=kidspubsbooksandmags_kidsmag_nwfcontrolquad&ssource=GoogleAdWords_Toggle&kw=kidspubsbooksandmags_kidsmag_nwfcontrolquad&gclid=CJrRjL6mkp8CFdA65QodnV5BRQ
There’s also Disney Princess magazine.
When I did a search for girl’s magazines, I found ones I’d never heard of before, but there were a bunch. You could also try going to your library and seeing if the librarians have any recommendations. You might even be able to see if they have some there and see if your daughter likes any of them.
Stephanie (2 years ago)
American Girl is a great magazine. I really appreciate that it’s not littered with beauty/fashion/romance/celebrity news. I might buy a subscription for my daughter when she gets a little older.
Surprisingly, I actually don’t know of any other magazines for girls in the under 5 age range.
P.S. Did you know that Brio Mag is now solely online? Sad, but true…