Reviews For Mothering Magazine


The Color of Parenting

Mothering Magazine is a great magazine for any parent. It promotes natural child rearing. Its issues talk about breastfeeding, vaccinations, natural foods, midwifery, home births, HIV/AIDS...

Peggy O'Mara, the editor, really knows how to reassure parents that they are the best judge for what is right for their children. The magazine is a comfort for parents who feel that they are the only ones breastfeeding, co-sleeping, or using cloth diapers.

I buy this magazine because it makes me feel at home. It keeps me in touch with a world of people that believe as I do. The next issue always comes at just the right time. It seems that when I feel that I have reached the edge, my child won't sleep, I am sick, I want to let her "cry it out", or I am so tired of cleaning diapers I just want to use disposables, the next issue shows up. Not only does it show up, but the featured article usually has something to do with what I am going through at the time. The articles are real.

I really like the issues that deal with vaccinations. So many people just do the things that they are told to, or are convinced that they don't know what is right for their child. The vaccination articles, as well as all the other articles in the magazine, encourage informed decisions.

Peggy O'Mara always does an editorial on the first couple of pages. Some of the time they deal with current events on the news (kids shooting kids) but for the most part it is a heartfelt hello to all of us mothers.

As well, there is quite an extensive section of letters from readers. Most of them are love letters, however, they do not shy away from negative feedback. It got really heated when there was an article about a child with two mommies.

This is a gift I give all new parents. It is very informative without the corporate sponsorship, which allows for more objective veiws.


Recommended:
Yes

Finally! A Parenting Magazine for Nurturers!

I first encountered a copy of Mothering magazine when I was pregnant with my son. My husband had picked up the issue (published in 1998) with the "Where is My Foreskin?" article on it - and I was immediately intrigued. I read the anti-circumcision article with interest and later went on to leave my son intact... although it was still not an easy decision. More recently, I have been buying Mothering off the news stand or borrowing a friend's issues because it addresses issues not only in a different way than all of the mainstream parenting magazines (Parents, Parenting, Child, etc.) but it also affirms that my parenting style is not only acceptable, it is actually good!

One of the many things that stands out about Mothering is the advertisements. Obviously, they are not why I purchase this magazine, but they have been very helpful to me nonetheless. I first heard of the Arm's Reach Bedside Co-sleeper via an ad in Mothering - an item that I loved and that is not exactly a "mainstream" item. Motherwear, a nursing clothing company, advertises in Mothering - and I have been happily ordering clothes through them since I discovered them. Other helpful items advertised are breast pumps, slings, cloth diapers, cotton clothing... lots of products that the "natural" parent might want, but not know how to find. One thing that Mothering does not advertise: formula. This thrills me, as I've noticed that other parenting magazines seem to feature dozens of ads touting one artificial baby milk or another.

Mothering has wonderful articles, as well. Recently, I have been reassured by an article touting the benefits of extended nursing, as well as articles praising the family bed. In the average parenting magazine, the family bed is viewed as slightly unusual at the very best, and dangerous at the worst. Breastfeeding past a year is rarely mentioned at all, and certainly not encouraged, despite the many health benefits that it offers.

I do not always agree with the views displayed by Mothering. I myself use disposable diapers on my child (regular Huggies, not the "natural" Tushies), I have had my son vaccinated as per CDC recommendations, and I had an epidural during my son's hospital birth. And yet, I think it's good to have a magazine that explores why cloth diapers are beneficial, why vaccinations aren't perfect, and that views birth as a natural process that does not require interventions like epidurals.

Finally, Mothering offers an extensive letters to the editor section in which readers comment on previous articles and the magazine in general. Whether or not the reader agrees with the magazine's view, the letter is published. In this way, readers are able to engage in ongoing dialogue about various issues.

Mothering magazine is a great resource for nurturers, attachment parents, and others of us who want to do the best things for our children but don't find our lives affirmed in the more mainstream magazines. I love reading it for so many reasons - and it makes me feel like I am not as "out there" as many of my friends would have me believe.



Recommended:
Yes

A magazine that doesn't sell FORMULA??*gasp*

I love this magazine.I have read articles that I have NEVER see in other parenting magazines.After reading this all other parenting magazines are just industry trash.
I have read articles about the vaccination decision parents make(note,other magazines just say DO IT and give you the schedule of vaccinations!),and articles that told just how many nerves are destroyed during circumcision from the medical point of view(and a lot of other things you might want to know on the subject).
It is a very informative magazine and it lacks the fluff that "industry trash"(my words)seems to be full of.
The magazine try's to stick to the natural side of parenting.You will find ads for cloth diapers,organic cotton baby clothes,natural baby foods,etc.
You won't see ads for gel-diapers or the formulas that we are bombarded with everywhere else.
It's a nice breath of fresh air and sanity in an otherwise strange world.


Recommended:
Yes

Parenting by your instincts

How Perfect, a magazine that puts out there all those issues that are avoided and put down by so many people. Family bed is a good thing, selective vaccinations, extended breastfeeding, the list goes on and on. I am lucky to be able to find it at my local Barnes & Nobles.
This magazine doesn't tell you to do things, because the Doctors say so, or because everyone else is doing it. Instead the overall message i get from the articles are to do what feels right, what comes to you by instinct as a parent. Which is the best thing you can do!


Recommended:
Yes

I wish it came out more often!!

I've never been one to follow the mainstream, and that's why I'm so glad I found Mothering Magazine before I got pregnant with my first child. My husband and I had decided to start a family, and I wanted to do some research. At my bookstore, nestled among the mainstream parenting magazines, was a magazine that looked a bit different. The cover photo wasn't a close-up of a saucer-eyed tot decked out in the latest fashions. It was a woman and a baby. The cover articles were about topics like vegetarian pregnancy and postpartum yoga. I was sold.

I've not been disappointed yet. Instead of being a barely-informative catalog of advertisements (like the mainstream magazines), Mothering gives another side to the story, one in which your baby's sleeping through the night is NOT the most important thing in the world, one in which gadgets and things are less important than intangibles like love and instinct.

Editor Peggy O'Mara's essays are particularly a pleasure to read. Her insights into current family and cultural issues, such as school violence, are perceptive and refreshing. I find myself nodding and even speaking aloud, "Yes! Right on!" while reading.

I anxiously await each issue, delivered to my home every two months. I read and re-read each article, even the classified advertisements at the end. The worst thing about Mothering is that I've finished the magazine and I have to wait for another issue. Bravo!


Recommended:
Yes

Finally!! A Magazine that encourages actual parenting!

I think this magazine is a must-read for all new moms. It encourages the one thing that mainstream society seems to ignore. The need for parents to actually PARENT!! Being a mom is not about finding the right toy, pacifier, baby swing etc....it's not about how to keep your baby quiet, and it's not about how to accomplish your goals in life and still meet the minimum needs of your baby.

This magazine encourages parents to trust their instincts when it comes to their baby. An idea that for some does not come naturally. Your baby is crying? Pick her up! She wants to nurse a lot? Nurse her! She doesn't sleep well in her crib? Put her in bed with you!

These concepts are ignored and discouraged in our society, but are the norm in many places of the world. Encouraging parents to meet their infant's basic needs is a great step to building happy, healthy, inedpendent children.


This magazine does not promote using a lot of "toys" or products to help you parent your baby. For instance, while a swing may keep your baby quiet and allow to get your housework done... a sling will accomplish the same thing while keeping baby right next to you. Yes, you probably won't get as much done while holding your baby as you would if baby were set down somewhere....but the bonding and the closeness are far more important than a "neat as a pin" house.

Too many baby products seem to offer to "do the job for you" why hold your baby when they are content in a swing? Why hold your baby on your lap and show them toys and rattles when they can lay on the floor and stare at an "activity center"? Why hold your baby while you feed them a bottle when you can give them a bottle propper? While some of these products can be useful and certainly as the mother of 2-soon-to-be-three small children I have used them in the past, they have the tendency to become overused. It's always easier to have a gadget preform a task for you then to do the task yourself. But I find it highly insulting that so many products assume I can't meet my babies needs without them.

OOPS! This is supposed to be a review of a magazine! Mothering Magazine gives me encouragement when I'm feeling overwhelmed, advice that I agree with and interesting articles that may make me question an idea or belief I may never have thought twice about otherwise.

Even if you don't agree with eveything in the magazine....it is a breath of fresh air from the traditional parenting magazines.


Recommended:
Yes

For Thinking Parents

Ever notice how similar most parenting magazines look today? Same smiling generic baby on front, same articles on sleeping through the night, toilet training, preschool adjustment, kids in the kitchen. There's nothing really wrong with this - most of us can use some practical advice from time to time.

Mothering is completely different. Its emphasis is on the philosophy of parenting - a "why to" rather than a "how to" approach. It carries articles on subjects the other magazines won't dare to touch, from homebirthing to questioning vaccination to alternative lifestyles. It has a letters section that encourages thoughtful debates from its readers. Peggy O'Mara's editorials challenge the reader to examine the choices we make as parents rather than blindly following the crowd. It is, by far, my favorite magazine.

I've followed a lot of the advice given in Mothering. I've rejected some, too, but that's OK. Thanks to Mothering, the decisions we make for our family are now truly informed decisions. Give it a try; you won't be sorry.


Recommended:
Yes

I want this!

I really want to subscribe to this magazine. It's on my wish list! I have a gift subscription to Parents that I'm hoping won't be renewed so I can get this instead.

The few issues I've been able to read -- and the articles I've read online -- have all been deliciously insightful and actually based in common-sense parenting. Instead of feeling like I'm being preached to I feel like I'm reading an intelligent exchange of ideas.

No, I don't always agree with everything in the magazine -- but I don't always agree with everything in any magazine or book I read. Overall, I agree with much more in this magazine than I do in others.

One of my favorite things about Mothering is that it never advises people to "mold" their children or "train" their children as one does a pet. Instead, it helps you gently "guide" your child so he/she can naturally become the person he/she is meant to be. It helps you "parent" your child intuitively instead of looking for an easy out.


Recommended:
Yes

I Save Every Issue

I first heard about Mothering from an on-line friend I'd made, whose parenting attitudes were similar to mine. She told me she always gave Mothering and a baby sling as her standard baby shower gift. My curiosity piqued, I asked her to send me a subscription card.

When my first issue arrived, I didn't put it down until I'd read every page! Each issue is so informative, whether I'm reading an article about the benefits of breastfeeding, the facts on immunizations, the virtues of the family bed, or the evils of infant circumcision. As a mother of four, I do not find myself challenged by the information found in other 'mainstream' parenting magazines. I find that the articles I read in them are the very same ones I was reading when my oldest child was born eleven years ago! Frankly, most of them leave me feeling quite unsupported and very alone in my parenting practices.

As an attachment-parenting, breastfeeding, co-sleeping, non-circumcising, tree-hugging kind of parent, it's sometimes difficult to find the support that we all need in this most important job we've undertaken. If you enjoy Mothering Magazine, you may also enjoy 'Hip Mama' and 'The Compleat Mother'. I enjoy them almost as much as Mothering.


Recommended:
Yes

Global Perspectives

I buy this magazine at our local farmer's/ whole food's market. I initially picked it up because I was looking for something to read and saw it in the checkout counter, and now I actively seek the newest issues to purchase.

This magazine is different than any other parenting magazine out there. It is willing to take unpopular and contraversial stands, and it backs them up with facts and research.

I learn more about myself, my daughter, and the world with each issue. Each month has a section called "bulletins" which includes interesting and helpful things. The March/April 2000 features birth trends, breastfeeding legislation, autism and the upcoming million mom march.

I find it wonderful to see things prevented in a way that are different from the norm. There is a lot of respect evident throughout the pages of this magazine : respect for the environment, for the earth, for our children, and for the whole human population. There is a constant breaking of boundaries and stereotypes in each issue -- I like that.

Though I don't always agree with this magazine, it always makes me think. It never fails to take me outside of myself and my perceptions and give me alternate ideas and solutions for the things that seem to weigh me down. It is easy, as a parent, to feel alone and 'talked down to.' Mothering Magazine helps me to feel important and valued -- to give worth to my parenting and to my daughter.

I am a better person for reading this magazine.


Recommended:
Yes

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