# need good magazines for preteen girls



## naturegirl7 (Jan 27, 2005)

I want to get my nieces magazine subscriptions for their birthdays this year - but now they are older (going to be 11 and 13) and I am not sure what to get them.

I do not want to get them the standard "preteen" mag like ComsoGirl or whatever else. UGH. They are already innodated with that kind of stuff from their mom and grandma - I like to get them more empowering stuff. They are both really smart beautiful girls - I like to encourage them to be strong, independent thinking girls.

But I really need some help in figuring out WHAT to get them. I don't really know what is out there. I was browsing Amazon and found these titles - any idea if they are any good? Or any other mags I should look into?

National Geographic Kids (animals/science)
Muse (science/math/computers)
Kids Discover (animals/science)
Calliope (history)
Dig (ancient history/archeology)
Faces (different country/culture each issue)

Thanks!


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## interested (Apr 11, 2007)

Especially in the case of the 13-yr old, I would definitely go for the "adult" versions of any magazines. I think that NG, Smithsonian, Time, and Newsweek would all be really good options. My parents had subscriptions to those and they were not above my reading level as a pre-teen.

If she's into outdoor/athletic activities, she might enjoy Outside.


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## Oriole (May 4, 2007)

I would have loved National Geographic at almost any age.









What are her interests? I bet you could find a magazine for her based on her hobbies, there are magazines for everything these days: Horses? Photography? Travel?


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## A&A (Apr 5, 2004)

My dd (11) absolutely loves Muse! She also loves Odyssey, by the same company. (And the last three you mentioned are the same company, too.)

NG Kids is nothing but vast amounts of commercialism, which really disappointed me.

Don't buy Muse, etc. from Amazon, though--buy it straight from
http://www.cricketmag.com/shop_magzines.asp


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## A&A (Apr 5, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *interested* 

If she's into outdoor/athletic activities, she might enjoy Outside.

There are alcohol ads in Outside.


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## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

What kind of stuff are they into? You can find magazines on anything from the usual (wilderness, fitness, crafts), the unusual (Advertisements), to the "People actually read that?" (Semiconductor International with 45,700 subscribers. Gotta love those Semiconductors.)


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## ziggy (Feb 8, 2007)

Well, *I* subscribed to Bitch Magazine when I was 13.

Probably wouldn't fly with most parents though. A shame, really.


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## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

What is it? *thinking dog breeding or something here*


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## ziggy (Feb 8, 2007)

"a feminist response to pop culture"


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## kraftykathy (Jul 12, 2003)

wow, i just looked it up and it seems like a great mag! i'd never heard of it before. thanks!


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## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kraftykathy* 
wow, i just looked it up and it seems like a great mag! i'd never heard of it before. thanks!









:


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## naturegirl7 (Jan 27, 2005)

Now I could totally endorse a mag was a "feminist response to pop culture"! BUt I can guarentee that my BIL and his wife would throw it out before she ever saw it.









As for interests - they are very bright and do well in school but they are not exposed to much outside of school. The older one used to love astronomy and biology until her mother drove it into her that Barbies and Lip gloss were cooler than planets.







: Being pretty and being popular is more valued that being smart and witty and self reliant.

They don't play sports, but they do cheer for the football team their dad coaches (GAG). They aren't in any activities except cheering and sunday school. They don't do crafty stuff unless it is with my MIL. They like jewelry, makeup, nailpolish, clothes, purses, shoes, etc. They do LOVE the webkins things. Anything cat related is usually a hit. Anything Hannah Montana is heaven to them. Barbies have been traded in for Bratz dolls several years ago. They do enjoy reading though (Sweet Valley books are the rage AGAIN LOL I remember when they first came out). And listening to whatever is the hit on the radio's Top 10 station.

While I think that some kids are ready at 13 for adult mags, my oldest neice is not. She is very niave. SHe may be able to read the content, but not necessarily process it in a productive manner. She is one of those book smart kids who has not a single drop of common sense. The younger one, she has common sense and street smarts and is light years ahead of her big sis when it comes to functioning in the real world.

Muse was actually at the top of my list - for the younger of the two. ANd Maybe Calliope, Dig, or Faces for the older one - just trying to find out more about the mags first.

Thanks for all the input


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## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:

The older one used to love astronomy and biology until her mother drove it into her that Barbies and Lip gloss were cooler than planets. Being pretty and being popular is more valued that being smart and witty and self reliant.
Seriously?


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## naturegirl7 (Jan 27, 2005)

Sadly yes. I WISH I could say I was joking.
My BIL's wife actually refers to them as "the smart one" (although recently over the last few yeras it has faded from the smart one to "the social butterfly") and the "pretty one" - to their faces!!! And has since they were toddlers!!!
Both are beautiful, in different ways. Both are incredibly brilliant, in different ways.
But they are encouraged to be weak, flighty, simpering girls. Disney Princesses, Brittney Spears, and Hannah Montana are their role models. Seriously.
I just wish they were encouraged (by someone besides me and DH) to be strong, beautiful, brilliant, outspoken, self assured women-in-the-making.

Being head cheerleader would be more important to their parents than being valedictorian







:

We get them stuff like books and microscopes for Xmas, while their parents get them Cell phones and Hannah Montana sing-a-long kits for the TV. I just don't get it.

I must say I do enjoy annoying my ILs by getting the girls educational gifts (that the girls enjoy!) and especially enjoy their horrified responses to the gender bending toys we supply DS with (a play kitchen, toy vacuum, male cabbage patch kid doll, dress up clothes, etc). THey always get something super commercial, all battery operated, and sports themed for DS - which always gets returned and exchanged for a nice open ended, enriching toy. LOL


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## MusicianDad (Jun 24, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *naturegirl7* 
Sadly yes. I WISH I could say I was joking.
My BIL's wife actually refers to them as "the smart one" (although recently over the last few yeras it has faded from the smart one to "the social butterfly") and the "pretty one" - to their faces!!! And has since they were toddlers!!!
Both are beautiful, in different ways. Both are incredibly brilliant, in different ways.
But they are encouraged to be weak, flighty, simpering girls. Disney Princesses, Brittney Spears, and Hannah Montana are their role models. Seriously.
I just wish they were encouraged (by someone besides me and DH) to be strong, beautiful, brilliant, outspoken, self assured women-in-the-making.

Being head cheerleader would be more important to their parents than being valedictorian







:

We get them stuff like books and microscopes for Xmas, while their parents get them Cell phones and Hannah Montana sing-a-long kits for the TV. I just don't get it.

I must say I do enjoy annoying my ILs by getting the girls educational gifts (that the girls enjoy!) and especially enjoy their horrified responses to the gender bending toys we supply DS with (a play kitchen, toy vacuum, male cabbage patch kid doll, dress up clothes, etc). THey always get something super commercial, all battery operated, and sports themed for DS - which always gets returned and exchanged for a nice open ended, enriching toy. LOL

Wanna borrow DD to take over to their place? She'd be a great role model. Refuses to be a 'typical' girl. Last time someone brought it up with her (in the question of "why can't you be more of a girl?") she replied with "What do you think I am? A cat? Can't be more of a girl then having two X chromosomes."









I commend you on continued contact, I'm not sure I'd be able to stomach that.

The one who used to love biology and astronomy might do great with a science mag, this is your chance to rekindle the desire. The lack of common sense could be that she's been bombarded with her parents ideas of what she should be for too long.


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## Kirsten (Mar 19, 2002)

My 12 yo dd1 has a subscription to Discovery Girls, and has for a few years. She loves it.


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## naturegirl7 (Jan 27, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kirsten* 
My 12 yo dd1 has a subscription to Discovery Girls, and has for a few years. She loves it.

I saw this one too - but it looked like a younger version of Teen or Cosmo. Is it different than that?

Quote:

Wanna borrow DD to take over to their place? She'd be a great role model. Refuses to be a 'typical' girl. Last time someone brought it up with her (in the question of "why can't you be more of a girl?") she replied with "What do you think I am? A cat? Can't be more of a girl then having two X chromosomes."

I commend you on continued contact, I'm not sure I'd be able to stomach that.

The one who used to love biology and astronomy might do great with a science mag, this is your chance to rekindle the desire. The lack of common sense could be that she's been bombarded with her parents ideas of what she should be for too long.
That is hysterical! I LOVE that!

And yeah, it is really hard to handle. It is harder now cuz last year we moved halfway across the country and don't get to see them very often (or even talk to them














. It worse knowing that I am not there on a regular basis to provide real encouragement, praise, and a different view point. Especially cuz the younger one and I are really close (I nannied for her when she was an infant - hence why I think she is so different and more confident that her older sis). And of course they are not allowed to come down for a few weeks during the summer and stay.







: Us and our radical views on childrearing and politics are a "bad influence" on them (god forbid they see someone breastfeeding!). I have also been told that by not vaxing DS I am not only putting him at risk, but endangering her girls too.








The ignorance abounds in that house.


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## kraftykathy (Jul 12, 2003)

how about new moon?

http://www.newmoon.org/magazine/

my dd loves this one. maybe this one might get past their parents and still show them that girls are valued for so much more.


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## Lil'M (Oct 27, 2002)

New Moon looks great! I just ordered it for my girls. Thanks for telling us about it!


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## 2goingon2 (Feb 8, 2007)

My daughter had a subscription to a magazine called "American Girl". You can look it up online. It's written by pre-teen/young teen girls and covers everything from peer pressure to politics. My daughter is 15 now so it seems a bit too young for her to enjoy anymore. We won't be renewing her subscription. I don't know what we'll get her next..."Bitch" sounds interesting and I may have to research that. There will definitely be no "Seventeen" or "Cosmo Girl". Jeeze - what a waste of paper.


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## ziggy (Feb 8, 2007)

I will say that Bitch advertises sex toys in it (as well as cloth menstrual pads, and other eco-nifty things) so if you aren't OK with that, then don't get it.

The articles in the latest issue are:
::: Laugh Trap-From politics to comedy, women's voices are judged and ridiculed. Is it the sound that's so scary-or what they're saying?

::: A Good Offense-When it comes to comedy, Julie Goldman & Kate Rigg want women to take back the mic.

::: Lowest Comment Denominator-Why it's time to give blog comments the silent treatment.

::: Lady of the Knights-Linda Stein and the art of soft power.

::: Horning In-The case for feminist metal. Plus: A guide to the heaviest women in rock.

::: The Ambition Condition-Women, writing, and the problem of success.

::: Ya? Why not?-It's a new golden age of young-adult fiction. Five contemporary authors tell us why. Plus: A q&a with author Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu.

::: Heavy Flow-Detroit MC Invincible amps up the conversation about music and social justice.


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## sunnymum (Dec 9, 2005)

New Moon is great! My daughter has grown out of the American Girl mags, but New Moon remains a favorite.


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## mommyinIL1976 (Jan 20, 2008)

DD (12) likes National Geographic, Teen People, and DH's Smithsonian when he's done with it. She's really big into history and has been begging us to take her to the Smithsonian museums in DC for months now. We're planning on taking her next summer for her birthday







: Shhhhh!


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## mammastar2 (Dec 17, 2004)

For the younger one, New Moon, Discovery Girls and American Girl all seem decent - I've browsed them before, and thought they were fine. The latter two are 'mainstream-ish', but not too pop culture-y. Crafts, self-esteem-boosting, how to deal with friendship dilemmas etc. Wouldn't offend their parents, but would provide a postive message for her.

I don't know for the 13 year old...that's trickier.

This one's Canadian, but the US subscription rate is not bad at all, and the mag is good. The 'personal style' section contains articles like "Why Not to Diet", there are music reviews, travel articles, interviews - not at all like Seventeen:

http://www.fazeteen.com/main.htm


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## SAHDS (Mar 28, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kraftykathy*
how about new moon?

http://www.newmoon.org/magazine/

my dd loves this one. maybe this one might get past their parents and still show them that girls are valued for so much more.

Hopefully you're getting royalties cause I'm subscribing to this too! Thanks so much for sharing it!


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