Magazines; E loves reading magazines. She loves choosing them; will happily sit and ‘read’ them in the shops as if it’s a lending library; covets a new magazine whenever she sees one. She loves the stickers and ‘workbooks’ and especially loves the plastic tat that most magazines come with.
All great and we do happily purchase magazines for her as a treat and yet I often feel slight dismay when I take her to a shop and let her chose a magazine. There is always such a large choice for the which normally means it’s not going to be a quick decision.
E does have a few favourites, normally ones relevant to what she watches on television. She loves the Peppa Pig, Ben and Holly and the Doc Mcstuffin magazines. Her actual choice depends on the free gifts. I have noticed the same free gifts appear on different magazines at different times so I have to make sure she doesn’t bring home the same plastic toy!
All children’s magazines, from the wholesome ‘Cbeebies’ through to the Peppa Pig magazines are advertising to our kids. Be it overt advertisements for products or just the extra exposure to particular shows, characters and merchandising.
The learning activities in the magazines vary, the short stories hold little attention with E, the stickers are normally good and the quality of the toys are normally poor but even so E doesn’t let go of them and I find them in various places round the house.
On this particular magazine choosing session E went for a magazine she hasn’t had before, an Angelina Ballerina one. she watches it on television occasionally so she is aware who she is. The magazine was sealed in a plastic bag so we had no idea what the content would be like. E had obviously chosen the magazine for the free gifts. It has to be said I am on this occasion pleased with her choice, I don’t think there is anymore room for plastic phones in the house. The gits enclosed are a fan, some toy rings, a small notepad and lipstick shaped pen, some trading cards and stickers.
My instant thought was she wont bother with the rings as they are too big, I knew she would like the fan and notepads and pens are a fan with any little person.
The content of the magazine included a story, a poster, a few educational tasks – no actual workbook, some colouring pages, a craft activity and a recipe at the back. I think the magazine is a bit old for E as there are a lot more puzzles compared to her other favourite magazines. But none of this seemed to bother E, its the free gifts that mattered. She enjoyed colouring and using the stickers and flicking through the magazine. The only good thing about magazines as once they are finished with they can be recycled so not constant clutter. E does keep her magazines for a long time as she likes to pick them up and look through them when she wants to.
E absolutely loves the gifts she got with this magazine, she wears the rings despite them being a little big for her, she tells me she is a princess when she using her fan, I think this relates to a Sophia the first episode where the princesses had fans. And she has used the stickers and notebook.
Children’s magazines are not cheap, you’re looking at £3 minimum, this one was £4.25, hence why magazines are an occasional treat. I have to ask myself are we paying for the plastic tat? If so surely a trip to pound land would be just as good? Not in E’s eyes, she loves the whole magazine package and the fun she gets from it.
So I wonder to myself, what type of magazine would I regard as appropriate? Everything these days is about what educational content there is. Are stickers important in the perfect pre-school magazine? (I’m fairly certain E would!) Should magazines even be anything other than a bit of fun?
What do you think of the current selection of magazines for children? Do your children love them as much as E?
My children love magazines, but I feel many of them are overpriced.
Sometimes the toys are just a ploy to get you to buy them too, and they break easily – i’d rather have a mag crammed with things to make and do – mini board games and activities.