To wonder why people put birth announcements in the paper?

[IsEatBedThyme]

I've just discovered it costs £85 to put an advert in one of the national newspapers. Surely it's cheaper to buy a load of stamps and announce the news to people via post, or even text and e-mail these days?

Traditionally it was a way of reaching a lot of people quickly. In the days before texting, phones, email etc.

I remember seeing the announcement of the birth of the DD of good friends of my parents in The Times in about 1982. We'd had no idea that she had been born until then. I also remember my gf checking the local and national papers for who had died!

I don't see the point in it now. I don't know anyone who regularly reads a paper.

Because some people (probably mistakenly) believe that loads of people will be oh so interested.

I suppose it's no different to putting marriage /graduation announcements in, but generally I do think anyone who would do so, in a national newspaper, has a bit of an over-inflated sense of their own self importance.

Deaths are different.

My mum did it when I had dd.

I couldn't have cared either way. She did it because it was traditional I think.

It's a status thing for 'society' types, I think.

My mum put both of my children's birth announcements in the local paper. It's still quite popular for birthdays, anniversaries etc

There was no real point because everyone who would need to know was told.

I just made her happy 😊

I think people do it because they like the tradition. Also it's a nice keepsake to hang onto. I wouldn't bother personally but each to their own.

It's just a nice tradition. I wouldn't bother, but why not? For a certain social group they probably do read and notice "oh the Family have had another boy". But mostly I expect it's just the tradition of placing the advert, then the fun of keeping the paper.

Life without any traditions would be less interesting I think - Xmas certainly would be less fun without a carrot for Rudolph!

Traditionally I suppose to reach extended family and friends you've lost touch with but who will be pleased about the baby or sorry about a bereavement.

It might still work. After all, everyone reads the Daily Telegraph

Our local paper has a section and no way round here are we society types it is just a traditional thing to do but I have noticed over the years the Birth announcement section getting smaller maybe 1 or 2 a week when dds were born decades ago there would be columns

I wish I had done The Times not local free rag with mine [weirdo]

I didnt do it but my mum has mine and my sisters cut outs

I don't know either. It mainly seems to be society types who like to stealth boast about little Ptolemy or Honoria being born at the Portland Hospital or Lindo Wing!

It was very much a tradition and definitely not for "society types"!

I suppose now it's seen as old fashioned because everything goes on Facebook or people text/e-mail etc.

I haven't seen birth announcement in our broadsheet for years. The community paper, on the other hand is full of announcements of births to Shaznay-Marie/Hunter-Jay's.

Our local paper tends to have a couple of births, but loads of deaths. Which I guess lends weight to the idea that it's a generational thing. I never paid for announcements for the birth of my own DCs, but my mum insisted on putting her own announcements in. I didn't see the point as the people who would have been interested had all been told anyway.

It's a status thing. A friends (snobby) dmother put her (my friend) engagement, wedding and Dgc announcements in the paper as we would obviously all need to know that her precious dd was doing ok for herself (she wasn't the first to marry or have children amongst us, and the youngest one has never left home or gotten married). My friend is really lovely and nothing like her mother who looks down her nose at most people.

Around here it's just what you do. We did it for all 3dcs, I've got the paper with my birth announcement in it....just the local weekly paper though, not a national or anything. We recently put dads obituary acknowledgement in the same paper and it was about £70 a throw

*obituary AND THEN acknowledgement - I think of dad and my brain seizes, it seems.

Our family have always done it. I suppose it isn't necessary now for family history purposes but it's nice to record our births, engagements and deaths as notable things - acknowledging that they're notable only for our family and not anyone else.

Pride perhaps? Joy maybe?

Very different from death announcements which can come as a shock.

I have no idea. There are a couple in the local free paper every week in amongst all the deaths.

We did it with DS in the Telegraph. Did none of you see it?

When he is famous in his chosen field it will be there for the journalists writing about him to find.