Parenting is one of the most discussed topics in the world. In the U.S. alone, more than ten thousand books and resources are frequently published by different media outlets and publishing houses solely about parenting and child development in the last 20 years.
In the era of the internet, parents or to-be parents can easily find resources, articles, and information about everything there is to know about raising a child. Most of these articles and parenting guides feature the panelist authors comprising of psychologists, child development experts, and parenting counselors who have worked in the field for over 20-30 years. Many of these authors publish useful guides about parenting on their blogs.
However, in the last 20 years, many of the parenting resources and guides were prepared by parents themselves. They have relied on their personal experience as parents to write blogs and columns about parenting and child development. Many of the readers have been finding it relevant and useful mainly because the writers have been sharing their personal experiences of raising a child in today’s world.
All in all, people can find many hard copies of magazines, online magazines, websites, and blogs featuring some of the most insightful guides about parenting.
List of Best Parenting Magazines
The best way to learn about parenting is by exploring parenting magazines! They often contain important and handy information on all aspects of parenting.
1. Parents
Parents.com is an online guide and resource for all kinds of parents. It doesn’t only offer guides and tips on positive parenting, parenting style, family dynamics, mothering, but also about pregnancy, baby names, and resources for kids. It includes articles and resources from the top childcare experts around the country.
2. FamilyFun
Family Fun Magazine is an ultimate guide to create experiences with your children. It frequently features selected articles about tips and ideas on spending a great time with kids. It offers new holiday ideas, household chores, past-time activities, etc. It focuses on parents with children ages 3 to 12.
3. Working Mother
WorkingMother.com is an online magazine targeting the mother who is actively working and supporting the family. Parental guidance tips are mostly focused on balancing life between work and home while maintaining emotional and mental well-being. They also offer frequent inspirational interviews, careers, and health tips for working women..
4. Scholastic
Scholastic.com focuses on parenting tips and advice on raising toddlers and kids. They offer insightful tips on schooling, school activities, extra-curricular activities, house chores, child development needs, and food for kids. They ensure to provide tips to help parents know how to play an active role in the development of their children at an early age.
5. Pregnancy & Newborn
Pregnancy & Newborn, pnmag.com, is a magazine with the collection of guides, articles, and resources about pregnancy and newborns. You can find guides and resources related to pregnancy, mother and infant, must-have for new-mother, exciting birth stories, and baby toys and gears.
6. Your Teen
Your Teen Magazine focuses on teen media highlights the resources for parenting teenagers. A fairly new magazine, it offers an insightful guide on parenting teenagers, teenage school activities, monitoring, and everything related to teenage life.
7. Military Spouse
MilitarySpouse.com is solely intended for military spouses and parents who are active in military duty. You can find great resources related to balancing to military life, married life, and parenting. They also feature insightful articles and blogs about the experiences of military parents.
Other than these, you can also find regional magazines featuring parenting tips and guides. Chicago Parenting Magazines and NY Parenting Magazines are regional magazines in the U.S. that receive hundreds of thousands of dedicated readers. Some of the most popular lists of parenting magazines in these regions are as follows:
8. ChicagoParent.com
Chicago Parent is one of the most followed parenting magazines in Chicago that provides families with top parenting resources. With over 30 years in publication, it has been offering insightful guidance and tips on play areas around the city, kid-friendly restaurants, exciting monuments, and destinations, etc. it publishes both hard copy and online articles for all kinds of readers.
9. ChicagoSuburbanFamily.com
Chicago Suburban Family offers an insightful guide on traveling and staying in a major suburb of Chicago. One can find exciting information on dining, playing, holidaying, and other necessary activities.
10. NYParentGuide.Org
New York State Parent Guide is a comprehensive guide book about child growth and development, family nurturing, parenting tips, and other resources related to parenting. It offers an in-depth guide for expectant and new parents living inside New York State.
11. NewYorkFamily.com
New York Family is an online parenting magazine and directory owned by Queens Family Media LLC offering an insightful guide on education, camping, pregnancy, child care, health, parties, and parenting. One can visit their online directory and retrieve all the necessary information about parenting and child care in New York.
Criticisms surrounding Parenting Magazines
Hillary Frank, the author of Weird Parenting Wins: Bathtub Dining, shares
“I was only weeks into being a parent, but according to the books, I had managed to fail at the three most important things so far—childbirth, breastfeeding, and soothing.”
Many recent child development experts and parents have been critical about parenting guides provided by popular magazines and columnists.
The research conducted by V. Harries and A. Brown in 2017 titled “The association between use of infant parenting books that promote strict routines, and maternal depression, self-efficacy, and parenting confidence” reported that parenting books can be severely damaging to new parents, adding to new mothers’ stress and increasing their chances of developing postpartum depression.
The abstract from the report goes as such,
“Use of the books was associated with increased depressive symptoms and stress, alongside lower self-efficacy, although the experience of using the books predicted this. Although those who found the books useful had greater well-being, the majority did not find them useful, which was associated with lower well-being.”
Despite the frequent criticisms, parenting magazine in the U.S often receives millions of reader on a daily basis. There are hundreds and thousands of writers and content creators who keep developing new and useful guides, tips, and articles about parenting and child development. Free parenting magazines and single-parenting magazines have been a great resource for many new parents.