...to think that children should be shielded from ladies mags too?

[proseccopro]

Graphic front pages on lads mags have been debated time and again. Today I was in the queue in my local co-op when my 7yo son began to read the headlines from the various ladies magazines displayed at the till. I have never notced before how graphic and unsuitable for kids eyes some of these headlines are! 'raped for my mobile phone' 'I gave birth to hundreds of spiders' (Yes really!) 'sex slave'...

These were the take a break, chat type cheaper ladies mags. I was tempted to broach the subject with the store manager but then felt a bit stupid in the grand scheme of things... The thing is, I really don't want my child to know about things like this age 7! AIBU and even naive??

Have name-changed as I usually reply to posts on a professional basis and this is my first AIBU.

YANBU I completely agree.

They are often much worse than any Newspaper frontpage, and though I don't think you can shield a child from everything, the headlines you speak of are way way beyond reasonable, and often sold next to the comics.

Thank you for replying! AIBU to be sat here crapping it worrying about replies??!!

I agree, but these magazines are also available at the tills too in some supermarkets, and as I pointed out last week on a thread, that is often worse than having sweets there!

I used to work in a newsagent that sold top shelf stuff and I have to say that the most distressing content was in the likes of Chat, Take a Break etc. Horrific stories often with disturbing pictures.

YANBU I agree. I assumed you would be referring to ladies mags, such as Closer or Heat, and was still ready with my YANBU.

Headlines sell magazines and are designed to grab the readers attention to say "buy me!". But they seem to forget, when arranging said magazines that even the 'clean' stuff is eye level for children and hardly appropriate.

You are absolutely right to want your child shielded from those horrible stories.

Sorry squeakytoy- didn't see your post. I did a quick search before posting as I was sure this must've got someone else's goat by now too. Apologies for repetition. Glad to know I'm not alone!

I can't believe they are so popular. Who wants to curl up with a cuppa and read 'I cut my leg off with my severed broken arm' or 'Guess what I found up my bum?'.

Oh my god I wholeheartedly agree, infact was going to start a thread on this myself.

I also hate the women's magazines like cosmo and more which pedal insecurity to young women, they will be fucking banned in my household

YAdefinitelyNBU!

I hate those magazines. But I also detest all the celeb magazines, and wouldn't want my DD anywhere near them. The headlines are obsessed with weight and appearance, which I find disgusting. I also detest the way that they turn real lives into a kind of soap opera ('here's the next episode in the so-and-so and so-and-so abortion storyline'). God, I hate them.

I agree with you. Some of those headlines are horrific (and gobsmackingly unlikely, but that's not going to register with a child). I know exactly what kind of mag you mean.

I think the placement of magazines in larger stores (WHSmith, MacColls, Co-Op etc) is decided at Head Office and is beyond the control of local store managers. I don't know who should be approached, though.

YANBU. I'd never buy them, and I also refuse to buy the self-esteem sucking photoshopped rubbish in the womens section.

Well my kids are 7 and 9 and they have never, ever noticed the headlines on these mags in the newsagent or supermarket.
I don't think they are on kids' radars, they are too busy looking for footie mags or Simpsons or nagging me for sweets!
I mean where do you start and stop with all the things we don't want our children to see - inappropriate pop videos, magazines, newspaper headlines...it's up to us to make sure they don't see them or explain or distract.
These mags aren't going to change or be banned so, ya know...

I know Proudnscary, would just be nice for them not to be at the till, this is where my Son was reading them. At the actual magazine section I agree that they don't even register with children as they are more interested in their own mags.

I saw a couple today in Sainsburys standing in the checkout queue - if my 9 year old had been with me he'd have seen them, and read them. "Raped for my mobile phone" - that sort of thing. Awful for the people involved, but does a 9 (or any younger able-to-read child who asks a lot of questions) year old really need to see it? TBH the sight of a bimbo's tits on FHM is probably the preferable option.

I don't want to read about giving birth to spiders! That's fucking disgusting!

I don't think young kids really notice them usually. I don't think it's realistic to censor everything, what if the news comes on on the radio in the shop and talks about murder and rape?

I like to pitch myself as a the intellectual culture vulture but Take A Break is my guilty secret. Well its not exactly a secret, it sits in all its brash primary outrageousness under the coffee table, a gaudy dichotomy between Elle Deco and DPs cycling mags. Friends, relatives and assorted visitors chez 'Pru are often surprised to say the least when the spy it, but pretty much everyone who comments ends up having a peek and becoming engrossed.

There has recently been a change of format, and the focus now is less on the heartwarming tales of triumph over adversity (that I love so much), and more toward the shocking and sickening, and this is reflected on the cover. I'm not sure if this more in line with its competitors, or if they are all becoming more extreme as I have never read any of the others and not noticed their covers. I do think its a relatively new phenomenon in this sector, and as such wouldn't be surprised if retailers find themselves being given guidelines in the near future.

OP I'm curious, what does "I usually reply to posts on a professional basis" mean? That you have a particular profession and advise others in a professional capacity if their thread touches on your area of specialism? Or, like me, you like to think of yourself as a professional-standard arbiter of reasonableness or lack thereof?

Meh, can't get too worked up about all this Prosecco and neither should you. Some things you can't change - choose your battles. We are in charge of our dc and what fills their heads and minds to a large degree (until they are old enough to regard us as total losers and ignore everything we say) so I'd concentrate on that.

My children seemed to be fairly oblivious to them when they were younger, and ds still is as far as i can tell (he's 12 but on his own plane a lot of the time). dd and I like to look at the stupider stories while we wait - we live in Canada and have some of those insane US magazines that are obviously not covered by slander laws, so it helps that they are so obviously ridiculous, full of Camilla just shot Kate/ Kate's having triplets/ is at deaths door etc etc with slightly bizarre photos..

I'd rather none of them existed really, but while they do I use them as discussion items, and to make sure (as much as I can) that my dd doesn't aspire to be a celebrity. Plus that she doesn't believe everything that she reads (can't start with critical appraisal skills too young).

ViviPru, I usually reply to posts in relation to my job, answering worries and defending my profession in -bashing incidents!!

Good advise Proudnscary. I'm off to bed, night all. X

YANBU

Some of those stories are most frightfully coarse, and no innocent boy should be exposed to them.

Yes, I do, and I think the best way we can shield our children is by talking to them, by teaching them to think and question, and by showing them what good writing looks like.