High Maintenance Mom

Magazines are a fun gift for kids because they come in the mail throughout the year. Our kids see our magazines come and they watch us read them. In turn, we enjoy watching our kids get excited about their magazines. I have not read every kids magazine but I do have some favorites. If you are interested in knowing more about a magazine, I recommend checking out the magazine web site and looking for them at a local library or bookstore. Here are some of our favorites...

My inlaws gave our oldest a subscription to Your Big Backyard and we loved reading it. B loved looking at the pictures. It's advertised for ages 3-7. Ranger Rick is also by the same publisher, the National Wildlife Federation, but it's for ages 7 and up. There is also Wild Animal Baby magazine for ages 0-4.

National Geographic Kids is a fun magazine (ages 6-14) that is easier to read than the adult version (National Geographic). N gets National Geographic Little Kids, which is for kids ages 3-6. It's a good magazine for him with big pictures and not very much text.

Lots of kids like Nickelodeon, which is focused more on Nick shows. I'm not a huge fan of the ads but many of the kids in B's after school program read it.

We started getting Parenting several years ago because it comes with Sesame Street Magazine. I would read Parenting (or it would sit in the bathroom) while the kids would look at Sesame Street Magazine. B liked it more than N but I'm planning to give a few to N to look at again soon to see if he's more interested now that he is older.

There are also lots of other magazines that cover an area of interest for your child such as Thomas & Friends, Disney & Me, and Sports Illustrated Kids.

And of course there are always great magazines for moms too.