Magazine for Kids (secular)

PinkandYellow

Sun, Oct 06 2013, 5:40 pm

I was thinking of getting a magazine subscription for my 8 yo son. I know about highlights and national geographic but not much about them or if the kids would enjoy them. What do you get/recommend? He gets lego magazine for free now, once every few months but I want something regular that has a mix of educational/informative and fun.

Ema of 5

Sun, Oct 06 2013, 5:54 pm

PinkandYellow wrote:

I know you mentioned them already, but highlights and national geographic are my favorites. I want to get subscriptions to all three highlight and some of the national geographical for Chanukah.

Last edited by Ema of 5 on Sun, Oct 06 2013, 5:57 pm; edited 1 time in total

granolamom

Sun, Oct 06 2013, 5:57 pm

How It Works is a really nice magazine, I do go through it before my kids get to it, every now and then there are explanations for things I dont want them to know just yet. The reading level might be a bit high for an 8 yo, though.

SplitPea

Sun, Oct 06 2013, 6:04 pm

I would be careful with national geographic. Often it has not to tznius pictures in it and many times discusses topics I would not want my 8 year old reading.

Other possibilities, ranger Rick, jack and Jill, zoo books, high five, club house jr, Disney jr.

My suggestion would be depending on how sheltered of a home you have is to read it all first to make sure you are okay with what's in it. Atleast the first few issues.

little_mage

Sun, Oct 06 2013, 6:25 pm

What about going to your local library and browsing what they have there/asking the librarian? Then you can get a sense of what's in the magazines, and your son can look at them before you commit the money. You could also go to a local bookstore to do the same thing, although I always feel a little guilty if really look at things but don't buy.

LiLIsraeli

Sun, Oct 06 2013, 6:26 pm

mummiedearest wrote:

kids discover is good.

I got Kids Discover as a kid. It's more educational. Each issue is another topic, and it explains all about it and how it works, etc. One issue was devoted to garbage (which was fascinating, surprisingly - and I used it as a resource when I taught environmental science), one was about weather, one was about Washington, DC. The information was presented in a very kid-friendly and fun way. I loved them, but they might not be good for every type of kid.

rae gi

Sun, Oct 06 2013, 7:30 pm

Tin Tin by herge. Although this may not be an educational magazine, it is wonderful to get kids into reading. The graphics are beautifully done, the story lines are fun and informative and the good guys always win.

seeker

Sun, Oct 06 2013, 8:08 pm

Agree with SplitPea that National Geographic is not as educational as it sounds. It does have some great material in it but a lot of junk mixed in. I do not give the whole magazine to kids, but when I had a free subscription for a few months I did like to take out selections to share with kids.

Kids Discover is a nice informational publication. Brief but dense. For kids interested in science, social studies, health, etc.

For more fun/light reading, I'd go with Highlights for younger kids and anything from the brand that does Cricket - Cricket is great for IIRC upper middle school, but the same co. makes a few different magazines for different ages (Ladybug for younger kids maybe? Don't remember the rest)

red sea

Sun, Oct 06 2013, 8:19 pm

little_mage wrote:

I also would recommend reading them in the library first so you know what you are getting and if your son likes them. Not a magazine but national geographic has a once a year almnac that is very good for kids.

bubbebia

Sun, Oct 06 2013, 8:20 pm

He's too old for Ranger Rick and Highlights. Kids National Geographic and Discover are good choices though.

granolamom

Mon, Oct 07 2013, 4:13 pm

sequoia wrote:

Stone Soup, Cricket, Muse

I was trying to remember those names! we used to get cricket, my kids loved it!

Soul on fire

Mon, Oct 07 2013, 6:20 pm

I agree that regular Nat Geo would not be appropriate for your son but they make a Nat Geo Kids that doesn't contain nude photos, or political articles, etc.

My 6 yr old gets highlights and I don't think 8 is too old for it.
If he likes sports there is Sports Illustrated for Kids.

Also like someone said you can check your library to peruse the selection and then decide. Our library has lots of magazines.