Parents (1-year)

By the way, my husband agrees!

Get with the times, PARENTS!


Raising Kids in the Modern World   October 28, 2004
Bryan Carey (Houston, TX)
17 out of 18 found this review helpful

Parents magazine is a very good publication about raising kids to be happy, healthy adults. It offers some good advice about the task of parenthood, illustrating the hard work and rewards that go hand in hand if parents perform their role in the best possible manner.

I like this magazine as a whole, but there are a few things that potential readers need to know about before they pick up a copy to read. First of all, the articles in Parents magazine deal mostly with younger children, below twelve years of age. You won't find much of value in this magazine if you have teenagers. It is intended more for families with youngsters.

Another thing about this magazine that makes it less practical than it otherwise would be is the suggestions for family activities. The ideas presented here are all pretty good, but the problem is that the majority of them involve outlays of cash and/or time that are unrealistic for most families. I can agree, for example, that adding a game room would make a nice addition to one's house and would add tremendously to a family's time spent together. But how many among us can afford a home addition? Parents magazine talks about activities and enhancements like this in an unrealistic way, making them seem much simpler and easier to implement than they really are.

Aside from distractions like that, however, Parents is a very good magazine to read. It's one of the longest magazines you can buy, with 200 to 300 pages per issue. Add to that the low subscription price, a few pages of coupons, and the generally sound parental advice and you have all the makings of a good magazine for young families.




Blah...   September 13, 2005
Wickerman (troy, NY United States)
16 out of 33 found this review helpful

This magazine was given to us as a gift subscription when our son was born, but both my wife and I quickly tired of it. The previous review that pointed out their lack of scientific research in a good bulk of their advice and their tendency to misquote and distort studies is just plain irresponsible. The magazine seems to be firmly stuck in a fantasy 'PC' world of lofty goals and ideals for your children that have very little real world application.

Articles about disciplining your children that read along the lines of 'If your 2 year old hits his brothe rin the face with a soccer ball, look him straight in the face, make eye contact and tell him that it is not nice to hit'.

Thanks for that pearl of wisdom. ANyone with a 2 year old can atest to the futility of reasoning with them. Never would parents magazine advocate something that might actually WORK like say taking all of his toys away and marching his butt to the corner where he gets to stand for say 9 years or until he is adopted by the neighbors :)

Seriously, the magazine writes for a fantasy land scenario where June and Ward are the parents and the kids act like the munchkins on a Disney TV movie. if you happen to be the cleavers, go for it...


A Good Magazine   June 24, 2004
C. Mark (Spokane, WA)
13 out of 14 found this review helpful

I like this magazine mostly for the activities and the developmental articles. I agree with some of the other reviews that say that it's "age-biased," but you have to remember that when they publish a magazine, they are targeting a specific audience. 18-34 IS their target audience. If you don't fit in that range, then buy another magazine! I don't buy Cosmo girl because, duh, I'm not a teen-ager anymore. I think this magazine has fun ideas and helpful information about baby products (such as consumer reports and recall information on strollers, carseats, toys, etc). And contrary to other reviews, they DO feature children of all different races, they DO have articles on children who are physically/mentally challenged, and they DO have articles on the benefits of breastfeeding. I don't expect their material to cater to my exact lifestyle (I haven't seen an article about vegan babies yet and I'd like to see something about cloth diapering) but I think they do a good job of trying to include all different kinds of families and parenting styles.


If you have a child, this is the mag for you!   October 26, 2001
WA Book Reader (Seattle, WA USA)
12 out of 13 found this review helpful

Parents breaks out articles and product reviews by different age groups so it grows with you and your child. Great ideas for both family and individuals, including timely articles on the benefits/disadvantages of immunizations, sleep, schedules, meals, birthday party ideas by age, best toys, best products (car seats, strollers), etc. One of my favorite sections has different parents comparing products and writing candid reviews about these products. I highly recommend Parents magazines for both pregnant women as well as parents (new and experienced).