Recommend good pre-teen girls magazine, please! archived

pdg

Sep 16, 2008 at 9:07am

Hi. I'm looking for an age-appropriate magazine to subscribe to for my 9 year old daughter, who loves to read and is starting to try to get into the Disney pop star culture. She doesn't yet own a Jonas brothers CD, but tore some pages out of a magazine (dont' remember which one and it's long gone) with their pictures on them and wants more magazines to tear pictures out of to decorate her pretty bare bedroom walls.

I'm guessing her goal is to erase the mommy-made, nice young girl's room image and personalize it with her own budding, pre-teen personality. I want to support her, but am afriad of picking a too-trashy magazine for her age. (I'm trying to help her maintain her innocence as long as possible at the same time.) She's not much into clothes/fashion yet; as she says "I'm not a girly-girl, mom!"

Does anyone know anything about these titles:

Girls Life - by Discovery. May be too boring and educational for her?

J-14 - may be too old, or trashy? (I don't want her to start wanting piercings/tatoos or to want to wear suggestive clothing.)

Seventeen - its been a LONG time since I read Seventeen. What age is that appropriate? Isn't it mostly fashion and boyfriends advice?

Any other suggestions would be very helpful!

bmalibashksa

Sep 16, 2008 at 9:12am

My sister asked me to get her 9 yo. Discovery Girls . The girls (9 and 7) love it.

http://www.discoverygirls.com/

kmk

Sep 16, 2008 at 9:24am

Avoid "Cosmo Girl" and "Elle Girl". There is nothing girlish about them! The content of those magazines is much better suited to a 17 year old. I would even be careful with "Seventeen". Pretty heavy-duty subject matter for a 9 year old.

Disney has it's own magazine I think. There are a number of teen magazines that focus on the music industry. You can spot them because of their pull-out posters. GO to the magazine rack at Barnes and Noble and you will see exactly what you are looking for....

cynicalgirl

Sep 16, 2008 at 10:56am

Seventeen has got older than it used to be. I don't think she'd like it anyway. J-14 looks more like the ticket.

My kid liked the American Girl magazine until about 12

SuzanneNg

Sep 16, 2008 at 11:43am

Girls Life used to be aimed at a 7-10 age group. Then they started having articles that were not appropriate for my 5th graders, so the age group demographic seems to now be 11-14 or so. Most of the elementary school libraries have discontinued their subscriptions to GL because of the shift in the target audience. I think it is more a middle school-type magazine.

hamandeggs

Sep 16, 2008 at 12:38pm

Discovery Girls is an excellent magazine. American Girl is, as well, and the focus isn't the dolls -- they make almost no appearances. The focus is friendship, sticky situations, etc. My kid waits for both eagerly.

cynicalgirl

Sep 16, 2008 at 12:56pm

Good point about AG -- it isn't just an outlet for pushing the dolls. Too, some their books are pretty good. My kid's pediatrician actually recommended a couple of them for various adolescence topics.

pdg

Sep 16, 2008 at 7:00pm

Thanks so much for the feedback and advice! This is exactly what I hoped for from parents who actually know the content.

I agree about American Girl books being great. I didn't realize they had a magazine. When my sweetie came to me all concerned about the "lump in her breast", we talked and later I found and bought the American Girls The Care and Keeping of You book and gave it to her. It seems to be just the right speed for her age, and my daughter is not big on the long (well intentioned) explanations/lectures from mom and prefers to read details on her own.

cynicalgirl

Sep 17, 2008 at 2:48am

Yep, that was the main book the pediatrician recommended. some of the ones on relationships and studying were also well-received.

cc827

Sep 17, 2008 at 4:28am

New Moon magazine is really wonderful. Much of it written for girls by girls and it really focuses on self-esteem, positive body images, etc. in a way that girls that age will relate to. You won't find the Jonas Brothers in there, but my 9-year-old (who also loves Discovery Girl and the Jonas Brothers) eats up New Moon regularly. (www.newmoon.org)

pdg

Sep 17, 2008 at 7:21am

Thanks cc827!

sallysue

Sep 17, 2008 at 8:50am

Another reco for New Moon - I've even seen occasional published works by girls from M/SO.

Magazines like Seventeen, Cosmo girl, etc. play a good game with "empowerment" articles, but they're really just selling clothes, deodorant and more junk to girls, jr. versions of their big sister publications.

jazzhands

Sep 17, 2008 at 8:51am

is cricket still around? it was a literary magazine for kids.

SuzanneNg

Sep 17, 2008 at 6:29pm

yes, Jazzhands , it is.

Tom_Reingold

Sep 17, 2008 at 6:58pm

You may want to look at Stone Soup Magazine. All the articles and pictures are by subscribers age 8 to 13. It's for both boys and girls.

jazzhands

Sep 17, 2008 at 8:52pm

love me some cricket.

boomie

Sep 18, 2008 at 4:38am

NEW MOON is a treasure!

TigerLilly

Sep 18, 2008 at 4:46am Edited

When I was her age, I LOVED Owl Magazine. I think it's actually a Canadian magazine, but it has all sorts of great things - science experiements, activities, recipes (I still remember making soft pretzels from a recipe then). It's still around. If she likes that kind of activity, she might like it.

http://tinyurl.com/5xufr4

Product Description
OWL is loaded with fascinating articles and amazing facts for 9 to 13 yr olds. Each issue includes science behind how things work, quizzes, contests, and topics on everyday life. With breaking news stories and mind-boggling puzzles, it's a thought-provoking, entertaining place for kids to grow.

Abstract

Aimed at helping children explore their environment and the world around them.