I live far away from my family in a country that is not my homeland. I also live in a small community where there is no parent group and parents tend to not gather or communicate with each other.
Needless to say, as a first time mom with a 2 year old daughter, I have found motherhood to be very lonely where I live. Additionally, I have had little advice on parenting since there are practically no resources for parents in my community. I have navigated the new, and often overwhelming, life of being a parent on my own.
A while back my mom sent a box of gifts to my family, and in the box she included Parents magazines that were a few years old. I had not read a magazine for ages, but figured I would read them before tossing since my mom had spent time and money shipping them.
Every day I would read a few pages of a magazine during my daughter’s afternoon snack time. I found relief in relating to much of the content. It clued me in about parenting tips, caring for the household and traveling with small children. There were stories about organizing and cleaning the home, doing fun activities with a child, communicating with children in difficult situations and other topics.
One story I found particularly insightful was organizing the home in a way so that the child can access items by herself, for example, wash cloths to clean up a mess she made, or cups to get water. I thought that’s smart, then she can learn how to do things on her own without me having to constantly hover over her, or her having to always call on me.
Further, it made me feel good to read around my daughter rather than watch TV or to frequently be looking at my phone. Sometimes I read the articles out loud to her just so she can hear the words, or I show her pictures and describe them. My daughter now picks up magazines and acts like she is reading like me. I think it is so cute, and I am glad to see her attempting to read rather than asking for the phone.
I recommend subscribing to a magazine geared towards parenting just to have some extra insight that can be helpful and relatable. I know there are blogs and Youtube channels, but I often feel those mediums can be overwhelming with too much information. A magazine can be slowly digested, and, as previously mentioned, something to get you away from your phone or the TV. If there is a particular subject you would like to know more about, you can always seek out blogs and Youtube videos about it.
For a starting point of finding parenting magazines, here is a list of “Top 25 Parenting Magazines and Publications.”
Lauren Ell was born and raised in Southern California. She was raised in what she calls a “secular” Christian household. She has been living in Sweden since 2016 with her Swedish partner, and gave birth to her first child in 2019.