Help with a Student Project: I am trying to understand mums!

[sherbetdust]

Hi everyone!

I am student at University and for final year project I would like to launch a Children's Lifestyle magazine. Not being a parent myself I have found this very challenging and would really appreciate your help and feedback on my Proposal. Below is a survey that would really help me if you could fill it out... it should only take a couple of minutes as it's just 10 questions.

www.surveymonkey.com/s/PTXH6JV

Thanks a bunch!

Link.

Done - but a) Where is East Anglia in your list of regions? and b) question 6 makes no sense. How important is your child's lifestyle? Do you mean how important to them or to me? What do you mean by lifestyle? They get the lifestyle I give them, on account of being children.

Sorry to be harsh, but I figured you need the feedback - good luck with the project.

PS - keep bumping this - MN gets busier in the evenings.

Agree with Hassled, Q6 makes no sense whatsoever.

And everyone is going to answer the last question in the same way. If you think you're going to get a load of answers saying people want their child to have nice clothes, lots pf money etc, you're wrong.

But good luck with it. You should take a look at Junior btw.And you should know that most people only buy "parenting" mags when they're pregnant with their first child. After that, they rely on their friends and family (and MN!)

Done

I wondered about Q10 also. As a parent what do you want most in the world? IMO most people will answer the same - they will want their child to be happy, as that really is paramount. If the "most in the world" qualification was removed then you may get some more practical (and useful to you!) answers.

I hope you don't mind us picking through your survey, but like Hassled I feel that feedback is important. I would have appreciated people being honest about my survey questions when I was writing my thesis instead of giving me stock answers.

Best of luck

Done, but honestly found Q6 a bit odd. Agree with squeaver, I bought mags re babies and pregnancy during my first pregnancy, not so much during my second, as i found them a bit samey and patronising. Now as a parent i read mags for escapism, wouldn't really want to read about parenting/DC's when i spend all my time being a parent...if that makes sense!! good luck

hmm yes, very bizarre questions!

i don't think children really have a lifestyle do they? beyond just well... being children.

oh, and it wouldn't let me only choose "other" for question 8, so i had to lie and pretend i wanted to see educational articles

Agree with the others - you need to be much more precise when asking the questions or the results you get will tell you nothing. It may be a good idea to decide what mums you are targetting as you are unlikely to produce something that will suit everyone ie are you expecting the mothers to be into attachment parenting or other types of parenting? are you expecting them to be interested in the environment? that will influence purchases if they are.

Good luck!

Not meaning to be critical by the way - just remembering the horror of the final year project!!

cringerama @ children's lifestyle mag

I answered 'a bit of peace and quiet' for number 10!

Seriously though, OP I'm not sure how many people continue to buy parenting magazines after the few months. Parenting is tough enough without feeling like you are doing a shit job, I already have Women's lifestyle magazines to make me feel frumpy and old, I don't want a parenting magazine to remind me of what a shite job I'm doing!

I would say that aside from the pregnancy/baby mags, parenting mags are more about a particular lifestyle, e.g. Green Parent.

What I would love to see is a magazine aimed at mums but that isn't really about having children per se, more tailored towards mums i.e.

-short articles that you can read between changing a nappy and breaking up a fight
-current affairs/intellectual articles that allow for the fact that you might not be quite in tune with the real world (e.g. during the first year of having a baby current affairs pretty much passed me by, and no-one at baby groups would talk about anything but babies!)
-articles about work/life balance or managing being a SAHM without losing your identity
-fashion that allows for breastfeeding/vomit stains/being able to climb over things
-activities to do with kids that don't involve you having to hoover up glitter or hiemlich [sp?] beads out of your toddler
-fitting in fitness around children

Like Pennyrain I find parenting mags pretty repetitive, though I guess that is equally true for many other mags.

Good luck with your project anyway.

Done, but agree with everything above.

har - isn't poppityping welsh for microwave?

i thought 1s were weak
i want a mag about fud

Thank you for all your responses, surveymonkey wouldn't let me see that anyone had actually done my survey intil today. I understand that the questions were pretty weak and that I will have to work on making more specific questions.

The feedback I have had so far is very mixed, and I suppose that is because it is from a wide range of mums. The magazine was originally aimed at parents with kids aged 2 - 10, as it more about their lifestyle from an older age, fun activities, places to visit, great clothes etc. What inspired me to do this was Milk magazine, it is a beautiful magazine and wanted to use its model for a british magazine.

I am working on another survey but I am not sure if this is the right place to post it again as parents on here don't seem to be interested in magazines like milk and Junior or are you?

pointy, tis poptyping, iirc

Raring2go magaziine that is delivered free round here has lots of good ideas, maybe you could have a look at it.

Also, if you go to the children's dept of your local library, you could look at the free magazines that already exist that may be similar to what you are aiming at.

The new survey is here.. www.surveymonkey.com/s/7Z9WPLV

If you like Milk magazine this survey is definately for you!

Thanks HinnyPet and Mudandmayhem for your responses, I will definately be looking into those right now.

I think like some people have said, now we've got MN we don't need magazines, you've got 'style and beauty', 'parenting', 'AIBU' (i.e. problem pages), 'book club' etc. so maybe we aren't your target market. Can you find a local toddler group and drop some surveys in there?

Are you really in your final year at uni?
What are you studying? Media?

Isn't Milk magazine American? Very unlikely that anyone here will have seen it. Same goes for Vogue Bambini - why are you specifically referencing them in your new survey?

Done. Better questions, but never heard of 'milk' or 'vogue bambini'. Also agree with above, stopped buying parenting mags once DC's were past babyhood - & my kids don't have a 'lifestyle' - they're just . . .well . . .kids?

I have just done the survey, sorry I didn't read your post first about the age group you were aiming at.

I have a 2 year old and 8 and 9 year olds so I'm your target magazine buyer but I don't think that i would buy a magazine aimed at my childrens life style - tbh I agree with the other posters, they don't have a lifestyle in the same way that adults do they are just children.

My older kids are just beginniing to get more of a lifestyle iykwim, but they are still too young to actually have one. If I'm understanding the term correctly and what your magazine is actually going to be about.

Also do not call your magazine Sherbet. Not if it's actually the adults/mothers you are targetting to buy it.
If however, it's a childrens lifestyle magazine aimed at the children to read them selves then Sherbet would be ok I suppose.