Parenting Magazine unfair to Dads

[disgruntledDAD]

I had to write to vent my irritation for Parenting magazine. I am an involved happy dad of my 15 month old baby daughter. I have been reading Parenting magazine since before she was born and I have read my last issue this month. Im annoyed that the magazine is called Parenting, but yet is obviously biased towards and written for Moms. Im tired of being ignored as a dad in the publication, and even at times belittled by articles such as what bothers you about your husband. Even TV commercials make the husband look like an idiot while the wife belittles him and treats him like a child. I can count in a typical Parenting issue maybe 1 or 2 brief blurbs relating to Dads and parenting. My wife and I are equal in parenting and we both are very involved in our daughters upbringing. If there is an issue we talk about it and solve it together.

I guess my main gripe is if you are going to name a magazine "Parenting", make it for Moms and Dads, or else just call it "Parenting for Mothers" and I won't waste my time reading it......

[freckles]

I am happy that you are a good and involved dad, but, sadly there is alot of truth to the article. Go to "Mad at Dad" thread and you have womens testimonial identifying to the article. Yes the mag is geared toward women just like GQ is geared towards men.

[H.Starr]

Do you know what "GQ" stands for? GENTLEMEN'S Quarterly. It does not even attempt to imply that it is in any way directed towards women. That is NOT the same. Not a fair comparison.

[freckles]

Yes, thank you, I know what it stands for. I am saying that I KNOW it is geared towards men, whatever the name, so I am not going to get upset that I don't find womens articles included. I am comparing the "gearing" not the TITLE. Fair comparison.

[H.Starr]

Again, if Parenting was called Motherhood, everyone would KNOW it was geared towards MOTHERS. But since it is called PARENTING, it is assumed to be geared towards PARENTS. Dads are parents too, obviously. But "Parenting" is implying otherwise.
So, no. Not a good comparison still. I posted more in depth on this in the Mom to Mom one, if you really want to debate me, read that one too.

[Daddy_Gator]

disgruntledDAD:

Here is my advice to you. Step away from parenting.com. Cancel your subscription. Run, don't walk.

The Mad at Dad article brought me here. It got me angry and frustrated. Not that there wasn't some truth to it, but that it was so one-sided and the only representation of fathers in a parenting magazine. And, essentially, just a bunch of complaining with no constructive solutions. I wrote on the boards, I wrote a letter to the editor (which garnered no response). And then seeing your post made me come to a realization. I was watching someone start my cycle again.

I'm done.

Not with trying to be a good father (because I rock at it and love being a dad). Not with trying to make sure that both my wife and I are mutually respected, rested, engaged with our kids, and loved at the end of the day (because our relationship means the world to me and I hear my wife constantly tell people that we split everything with kids and home pretty equally). And not with seeking information and understanding on how to raise two amazing kids (because every time I think of how lucky I am to have my boys, my eyes go blurry and will do all that I can to raise them to be good, kind, strong, creative and loving).

I'm done with being offended at Parenting. I work in marketing and publishing. I know about target audiences and how content is catered to them. But I would think that "Parenting" would be catered towards "parents." Period. Not just mothers. What that does is just reinforce, to both mothers and fathers, that a mother is the only real parent. The only one who cares about "parenting things." If you are liberal, and want your views reinforced, go to huffingtonpost. If you are conservative, and want your views reinforced, go to FOX News. And if you are a mother who holds the view that you are the only one who can be a true parent, Parenting will reinforce that for you. For those moms who think that Parenting is/should be a woman's magazine (and freckles, glad that you're letting me have a gun magazine, but not one on ways to raise my children... incidently GQ and Cosmopolitan are equal comparisons, not GQ and Parenting), or that a separate magazine should be made about fatherhood, I ask the question: what are you afraid of? I don't think any father who has complained wants a complete overhaul. How about more (and by more I mean one) pictures of fathers with kids accompanying articles? How about starting more articles with the words "parents" or "moms and dads" instead of just moms? Is the core mission of this magazine about ways to raise kids or ways for moms to feel good about themselves (both actively and passively at the expense of fathers)?

I mean no disrespect to the mothers on here. I have learned a great deal from many of you. There are many, many supportive moms who frequent this site who want to find out more about raising children and want to be a part of a community that shares information. They also know that letting dads into that community could actually provide ideas and thoughts that might make them think differently (H. Starr, IrishMom, and others I truly want to say thank you). There are also mothers on this site that, like the magazine, go out of their way to make sure that fathers know that they are not welcome here.

Luckily, in this technological age, there are countless other ways to get information about parenting. I'm going elsewhere. I will no longer be represented by a pink, default mother's head. I will no longer plow through the beginning of an article about teething, trying to not to notice that it started off with "As a mom, you care about your child's...", because I just want the information. I don't have to seek validation or defend myself as a dad. I just have to always try to be a good parent to my kids and good husband to my wife. Thank you all, in your own ways, for helping me to realize that.

Good bye.

This has been long, and hopefully not too ranty, but if you have time take a look at this article from the New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/ma...ng-t.html?_r=1

It's about equal parenting. It's well-written, well-researched, lists stats, case studies, and get this: actually interviews both mothers and fathers. Compare this to the pile of crap that was Mad at Dad. This article shows different ways that parents came together to raise kids, what worked and what didn't without shying away from the lack of time fathers traditionally spend. It helped remind me what actual journalism and writing can look like.

[atlasVI]

Canceling a subscription to magazine that is suppose to help you make good decisions about your parenting because of an article or a few articles, makes me think you are just trying to get out of the parenting business.


Newspapers are supposedly geared toward men and women often have articles, oh my god, geared only toward men. I am going to never read a newspaper again, because they wrote an article for someone else that didn’t include me. How can they call themselves a newspaper! Other magazines (Times, US News and Reports) do this too!


Yes there are going to be articles that talk about women’s feeling about their husbands in Parenting magazine, so what. Get over it. Not everything, after all, is about you.

[H.Starr]

Atlas, have you ever read Parenting magazine? If so, have you ever noticed that EVERY article starts out or includes some part where it directly addresses the reader as a mother? Because they all do. The accompanying photos are always mothers and children, not fathers. They did 31 days of giveaways for Mother's Day, I'd just about bet my whole life they don't even do ONE for Father's Day.
The complaint is not just about that one Mad at Dad article, its about the entire focus and direction of the magazine as a whole.
They're not "trying to get out of the parenting business," they're fed up with being ignored in it.
"Not everything is about you?" You're right. Its all about US, the mothers, that's the problem.

[freckles]

Atlas, have you ever read Parenting magazine? If so, have you ever noticed that EVERY article starts out or includes some part where it directly addresses the reader as a mother?

Ok, I know what you are thinking..."Here we go again!" lol So we at least agree on Parenting Mag being geared towards mothers right?

I read what DaddyGator said about most articles starting with "Hey Moms..........." So I decided to give it a go. I randomly, PROMISE, randomly picked up a Parenting mag from my stash. Oct 08. The advice, mostly every bit of advice, is NOT directing its attention to all moms. I think you could give them a break when they are talking about BF.

Overall, the mag is pretty balanced, no not equally, but staying true to its female readers. I also found that the mag was quoting professional male opinions as much as female experts.

Dad alert!! Page 16, 26, 51, 66, 121, 140 (drawing). I know, I have to much time on my hands and you can make fun of me!

Yes, the magazine is called parenting, but I know these "wonder" dads are a small majority. I am positive that in most family scenarios, even when moms bring in an income, she does most of the nitty-gritty at home, when the dad IS around.

[H.Starr]

hahaha okay freckles, here we go.....

May issue.

First of all, all the advertisements are either for women (facial moisturizers, etc) or include photos of mothers with children. Not fathers.

Pages 22-25, "Mother 'hood"
Page 33 - "your health" says "cheers to you, mom!" Why can't dads drink wine? Also "Period Problem" and "Love your new mom bod"
Pages 44-47 "your toys" Jewelry, purses, perfume, mascara, nail polish.
Page 61 "Our Money" has "deals for moms" Why can't dads use coupons??
Pages 62-63 "Our Travel" has "Go away, girlfriends" and "Diva destinations" Why can't dads travel to relax. I'm sure some of them wouldn't mind a spa trip or going to wine country.
Pages 66-69 "take a day off" What about full time dads? Can't they take a day off too?
Pages 70-71 "the good job list" about "genius mommy moments" Don't dads have smart ideas too?
Pages 72-74 "tame that clutter" also directed at mothers. Opening sentence="when you're a mom, you're waging a constant war against clutter-it's one of the great mental challenges of motherhood." What about dads who like things neat and organized? My husband always helps clean the house.
Pages 84-87 "could it be asthma" opening paragraph says "what every mom needs to know" Don't dads need to be concerned/knowledgeable about their child(ren)'s health too??
Page 97 an ad for "tipsntrends.com" with all "mom stuff" where's the "dad stuff" page?
Page 100 "Parenting Top 10 ways your life isn't like a reality show" also directed at women.