{{Short description|American parenting magazine (1926–2022)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox magazine | title = Parents | image_file = Parents magazine.png | image_size = | image_caption = | editor = Julia Edelstein | editor_title = Editor in Chief | frequency = Monthly | total_circulation = 2,215,645 | circulation_year = 2011 | category = Parenting | publisher = | founded = October 1926 | firstdate = | finaldate = April 2022 | company = People Inc. | country = United States | based = New York City<ref>{{cite news|author=Dave Eisenstadter|title=Family Fun magazine leaving Northampton; jobs moving to New York City|url=http://www.gazettenet.com/readerservices/businessxml/17077393-95/family-fun-leaving-northampton-jobs-moving-to-nyc|access-date=December 12, 2015|work=GazetteNet|date=May 28, 2015}}</ref> | language = English | website = {{URL|http://www.parents.com}} | issn = 1083-6373 }} '''''Parents''''' is a digital media site, formerly run as an American monthly magazine, founded in 1926 that featured scientific information on child development geared to help parents in raising their children. Subscribers were notified of the magazine's dissolution via a postcard mailing in March 2022.

== History == The magazine was started by George J. Hecht in 1926. The magazine was originally titled ''Children, The Magazine for Parents''.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ueBgyV7inJAC&q=%22parents%27+magazine%22+1926&pg=PA145 | title=Children and War: A Historical Anthology| isbn=9780814756676| last1=Marten| first1=James| date=August 24, 2002| publisher=NYU Press}}</ref> Hecht hired Clara Savage Littledale to be its first editor. The first issue was published in October 1926<ref>{{cite web|title=Magazines in Alphabetical Order|url=http://guides.library.harvard.edu/schlesinger_womens_magazines|work=Radcliffe Institute|access-date=October 19, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Top 100 U.S. Magazines by Circulation|url=http://www.psaresearch.com/images/TOPMAGAZINES.pdf|work=PSA Research Center|access-date=February 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161115225953/http://www.psaresearch.com/images/TOPMAGAZINES.pdf|archive-date=November 15, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> and soon was selling 100,000 copies a month.<ref name=selig>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Selig|first=Diana|title=Parents Magazine|url=http://www.faqs.org/childhood/Me-Pa/Parents-Magazine.html|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society|access-date=December 12, 2011}}</ref> Beginning with the August 1929 issue, the name was changed to ''Parents' Magazine'' (with an apostrophe).<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/massmediachronol00huds_0 | url-access=registration | quote=parents' magazine apostrophe. |title = Mass Media: A Chronological Encyclopedia of Television, Radio, Motion Pictures, Magazines, Newspapers, and Books in the United States| publisher=Garland Publishing, Incorporated |isbn = 9780824086954|last1 = Hudson|first1 = Robert Vernon|year = 1987}}</ref> Littledale was followed as editor by Mary Buchanan. In 1937, the magazine was granted trademark registration for the mark ''Parents' Magazine''.<ref name=Justia>[http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/793/1222/1369335/ "Gruner+ Jahr USA Pub. v. Meredith Corp., 793 F. Supp. 1222 (S.D.N.Y. 1992)"], ''Justia'', July 14, 1992.</ref>

From 1941 to 1965, '''Parents' Magazine Press''' published a line of comic books and magazines heavily featuring comics, including such long-running titles as ''Calling All Girls'', ''Children's Digest'', ''Polly Pigtails'', ''True Comics'', and ''True Picture-Magazine''.<ref>[http://www.comics.org/publisher/119/ Parents Magazine Press], Grand Comics Database. Retrieved February 29, 2016.</ref> Parents Magazine Press also published ''Humpty Dumpty'' from the 1950s through the early 1980s, until it and ''Children's Digest'' were sold to ''The Saturday Evening Post'' company.

''Parents' Magazine'' was sold to Gruner + Jahr in 1978. At that time, the magazine was "relaunched" and its name was shortened, utilizing only the word "Parents", without an apostrophe.<ref name=Justia /> Elizabeth Crow became the magazine's editor for the next decade, before being replaced by Ann Pleshette Murphy, who was editor-in-chief between 1988 and 1998, and a contributing editor from 1998 to 2002.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ann Pleshette Murphy |url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=124698 |access-date=2023-05-02 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref>

In 1992, Gruner + Jahr filed suit against Meredith for trademark infringement of ''Parents'' when Meredith published ''Parent's Digest''. With the court finding no actual confusion of the products (though there was testimony from managers and employees as to inquiries about a possible relationship between the publications), the case was dismissed.<ref>[http://www.leagle.com/decision/19932063991F2d1072_11905/GRUNER%20+%20JAHR%20USA%20PUB.%20v.%20MEREDITH%20CORP. "GRUNER + JAHR USA PUB. v. MEREDITH CORP."], ''Leagle'', 1993.</ref>

Meredith acquired ''Parents'' magazine when Gruner + Jahr left the US magazine business in 2005. Sally Lee was the editor from 1998 to 2008. Dana Points was editor-in-chief from 2008 to 2016. The Meredith Corporation would later be acquired by IAC in 2021.

In February 2022, it was revealed that ''Parents'' would end print publication and switch to an all-digital format.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/barry-dillers-media-group-pulls-plug-on-6-print-magazines-including-instyle-and-entertainment-weekly-11644424320|title=Barry Diller's Media Group Ends Print Versions of InStyle, Entertainment Weekly, Others|first=Alexandra|last=Bruell|publisher=Wall Street Journal|date=February 9, 2022|accessdate=May 10, 2022}}</ref>

== Profile == ''Parents'' editorial focus is on the daily needs and concerns of mothers with young children. The monthly features information about child health, safety, behavior, discipline and education. There are also stories on women's health, nutrition, pregnancy, marriage, and beauty. It is aimed primarily at women ages 18–35 with young children.

Columns include "As They Grow," which covers age-specific child development issues, as well as the reader-generated "Baby Bloopers," "It Worked for Me," and "Goody Bag." The magazine produces a website,<ref>{{cite web|title=Parents|url=http://www.parents.com/|publisher=parents.com|access-date=December 12, 2011}}</ref> an iPhone app for kids, ''Parents'' Flash Cards, and GoodyBlog.com, the later-defunct blog.

With its historical reach, ''Parents'' has frequently been used by academics to document social and cultural shifts over time. Melissa Milkie and Kathleen Denny described the prominence of the magazine:

{{blockquote|The magazine's goal of disseminating scientific knowledge of all types concerning children's development and family life in general, proved to be very popular. The magazine was the only U.S. periodical whose circulation rose during the Great Depression, and during the 1930s and 1940s, it was proclaimed as the most popular advice periodical in the world (Schlossman, 1985).<ref>Schlossman, S. (1985), "Perils of Popularization: The founding of ''Parents' Magazine''". ''Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development'', 50, 65–77.</ref> By 1971, ''PM'' claimed in its pages to have counseled mothers and fathers in the 'rearing of more than 100 million children,' attesting to its prominence"<ref>Milkie, M. and K. Denny (2014), "Changes in the Cultural Model of Father Involvement: Descriptions of Benefits to Fathers, Children, and Mothers in Parents' Magazine, 1926–2006". ''Journal of Family Issues'', 35:223–53.</ref>}}

Despite its gender-neutral title, the magazine's advice has implicitly been directed toward women.<ref>Strathman, T. (1984). "From the quotidian to the utopian: Child rearing literature in America, 1926–1946". ''Berkeley Journal of Sociology'', 29, 1–34.</ref> On the February 2019 cover it featured a same-sex male couple, the first in its history.<ref>{{cite web|last= Leighton-Dore|first= Samuel|date= January 21, 2019|url= https://www.sbs.com.au/topics/sexuality/fast-lane/article/2019/01/21/parents-magazine-features-same-sex-dads-its-cover|title= 'Parents' magazine features same-sex dads on its cover|website= SBS}}</ref>

The magazine received criticism for featuring a bored white child who appears to be screaming, dressed in a toy headdress on its January 2016 cover. Dr. Debbie Reese of American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) called the depiction racist, as it implies a "wild Indian" stereotype.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.powwows.com/tell-parents-magazine-this-is-not-an-acceptable-cover/ | title=Tell Parents Magazine This is NOT an Acceptable Cover | date=10 December 2015 }}</ref>

==Medal for "Movie of the Month"== Each month, ''Parents' Magazine'' would award a medal to a "Movie of the Month". The image of the "Movie of the Month" Medal was subsequently used on movie posters and lobby cards. Past recipients include:

* ''The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (March 1939)<ref>[https://entertainment.ha.com/itm/movie-tv-memorabilia/awards/the-adventures-of-huckleberry-finn-award-medal-from-parents-magazine/a/7006-49002.s "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Award Medal from Parents Magazine"]. Heritage Auction.</ref> * ''The Wizard of Oz'' (September 1939)<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ampVBAAAQBAJ&q=%22parents+magazine%22+medal+%22movie+of+the+month%22&pg=PA68 |title = The Wonderful World of Oz: An Illustrated History of the American Classic|isbn = 9781461744771|last1 = Fricke|first1 = John|date = November 7, 2013| publisher=Down East Books }}</ref> * ''Pinocchio'' (December 1939)<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mH3Sr0-i5JIC&q=%22parents+magazine%22+medal+%22movie+of+the+month%22&pg=PA113 |title = Babes in Tomorrowland: Walt Disney and the Making of the American Child, 1930–1960|isbn = 0822386836|last1 = Sammond|first1 = Nicholas|date = July 20, 2005| publisher=Duke University Press }}</ref> * ''Kathleen'' (January 1942)<ref>[https://entertainment.ha.com/itm/movie-tv-memorabilia/awards/shirley-temple-kathleen-award-medal-from-parents-magazine/a/7006-49255.s?ic3=ViewItem-Auction-Archive-ThisAuction-120115 "Shirley Temple - Kathleen Award Medal from Parents Magazine"], Heritage Auctions.</ref> * ''They Were Expendable'' (December 1943)<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y8vKoEsPMqsC&q=%22parents+magazine%22+medal+%22movie+of+the+month%22&pg=PA67 |title = Heritage Music & Entertainment Auction #7006| publisher=Heritage Capital Corporation |isbn = 9781599673691}}</ref> * ''Son of Lassie'' (May 1945)<ref>[https://entertainment.ha.com/itm/movie-tv-memorabilia/awards/son-of-lassie-award-medal-from-parents-magazine/a/7006-49237.s "Son of Lassie Award Medal from Parents Magazine"], Heritage Auctions.</ref> * ''Alice in Wonderland'' (July 1951)<ref>[http://vintagedisneyalice.blogspot.com/2014/09/parents-magazine-september-1951.html "Parents magazine September 1951"], September 1, 2014.</ref> * ''Hansel and Gretel'' (October 1954)<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/motionpicturedai76unse_0/motionpicturedai76unse_0_djvu.txt Full text of "Motion Picture Daily (Oct-Dec 1954)"]. Internet Archive.</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.parents.com Official website] {{IAC}}

Category:Defunct lifestyle magazines published in the United States Category:Magazines established in 1926 Category:Defunct magazines published in New York City Category:IAC Inc. Category:Parenting magazines Category:Magazines disestablished in 2022