- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- preteenagers today articles
- preteenagers today q&a
- teenagers today articles
- teenagers today q&a
- community & groups
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
From Our Sponsors
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Fashion! Beauty! Celebs! Sex!
A Look Inside the World of Teen Magazines
By Kelly Burgess
Your teenage daughter says she's too old for silly "teeny-bopper" fan magazines, and she thinks she's too cool for American Girl (unfortunately!). Instead she'd like a subscription to Seventeen Magazine. But she's only 14! What's a mother to do?
That was the question I asked myself not long ago, followed by some research to find the answer. Below is the result of an intensive couple of days spent in the world of teen magazines and my recommendations on who should be reading what. I'm a rather strict mom when it comes to media, whether it be print or video, so adjust these based upon your idea of what is acceptable in your family. 
In spite of the summer theme, each magazine promotes sunless tanning and safe sun exposure, which is a good thing. The bad thing? Advertisements. One magazine's editorial content didn't even begin until page 22. Also the ads feature LOTS of skinny, perfect girls. Some skinny to the point of scary. More than one model looked as if she should have been in the hospital, not frolicking on the beach.
Other than that, all of the magazines were loaded with fashion and beauty advice, each featured several true life stories from the merely humiliating to the terrifying and all delved into the lives of celebrities and their careers, boyfriends/girlfriends, piercings, etc. Last but not least, each had its own section devoted to boys. Not FOR boys, you understand, ABOUT boys. How to talk to them, approach them, rate them, understand them, date them, have sex with them and dump them.