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Parenting Magazine Round-Up

When I was about 7 months pregnant, I started looking at parenting magazines, trying to figure out which one 'spoke' to me. (Answer: none of them completely.)

Mothering
Crunchy. Future homeschoolers and Waldorf parents. Very pro breastfeeding, midwifery, and family bed. Very suspicious of vaccinations, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and toys made from plastic. If you had a c-section or have ever enjoyed not being around your child, Mothering might not be for you.

Parents
Sensible. Are you practical? Do you drive a mini-van? Are you interested in easy to make dinners the whole family will enjoy? Suspicious of home births, co-sleeping and fancy European strollers? Yes? Well, then, here you go.

Child
Trendy. Pro organic baby food, yoga and European strollers. Covers important issues like manners for toddlers and what celebrities are buying. Not for the Graco stroller or Winnie the Pooh crowd.

Cookie
Funny. Tackles issues like how to creatively design a room shared by two children (The Horror!) and which new Spring cosmetics should be in your bag. Suspicious of badly designed baby gear, clothing with butterfly or sports appliques, and Disney videos. For those who see parenthood as another reason to shop.

city baby l.a.

lilaguide has competition and its name is city baby l.a. Besides being against the capitalization of proper nouns, both guides cover a lot of the same ground: shopping (lots and lots of shopping), enrichment classes, restaurants, babysitters. Unlike lilaguide, city baby l.a. isn't compiled from reader feedback and includes a few different and fabulous categories like food delivery, massage and pilates (these are the kinds of things that give LA its reputation...). They also focus primarily on the Westside and the Valley, though Silverlake, Hollywood and Pasadena are included (Glendale, Burbank and the rest of the San Gabriel Valley, apparently didn't make the cut).

There are two great things about city baby l.a. The first is the range of content that's covered. In addition to the standard categories, they include hospitals and birthing centers; childbirth education; a selection of parks, beaches and other outdoor activities; birthday parties and cakes; and a bit on preschools. The second great thing: the reviews. Like most local parenting guides, this book is about shopping more than anything else. Unlike other guides, they give you a better sense of the stores and their merchandise than the typical "friendly, knowledgeable sales staff" or meaningless "great selection" quotes. They also include helpful info in all their reviews: return policies for stores, c-section rates for hospitals, and age ranges for classes. The book's weaknesses are the usual ones: poor restaurant coverage and seemingly no coverage of free or more inexpensive classes. Unlike lilaguide, city baby's restaurant section consists mainly of child friendly independents instead of chains but since there are no reviews, you'll just have to take their word for it. That's great but what's the vibe like and what do they serve? My other complaint is that they don't list classes offered by continuing education, parks departments or libraries. What's with that?

Though it's a little fabulous and Westside, overall, I think this is probably the best book of its kind for new mamas in LA.

Baby Bargains + Toddler Bargains

Produced in the ever popular and handy review book format (think Zagat Survey or lilaguide), Baby Bargains and Toddler Bargains aim to save you up to 20 - 50% on baby gear. Some of their tips are good like the fact that Stride Rite supposedly makes Target's toddler and kids shoes for a lot less than you'd pay at one of their stores. Other tips, like shop at outlets or bake your kid's birthday cake don't really require a book to figure out. What makes these books worth buying though are the reviews which are based on the authors' personal experience and research as well as feedback from readers. As far as I can tell, all major manufacturers are included in all major categories. Of the two, I'd definitely recommend reading Baby Bargains before registering or purchasing things like cribs or car seats. In addition to the books, they have message boards where you can find even more bargains or debate whether MacLaren or Peg Perego make better strollers.

lilaguide

Having a kid plunges you into in a parallel world that non-breeders don't know about. Outside of Target and Babies R Us, where do you buy their gear? How the hell can you meet other mamas? Which of the 17 different enrichment class franchises is best for your 7 month old? Gymboree or Little Gym? Music Together or Music for Aardvarks? The lilaguideattempts to answer these questions and more for the novice mama.

The lilaguide works pretty much like the Zagat Surveyrestaurant guides: they compile ratings and feedback from ordinary parents into a handy diaperbag sized volume and sell it to you for about $11 on Amazon. They cover clothing, gear, child care referrals, classes, doctors, restaurants, and a few more categories. The LA guide is a good start for new parents but not definitive. The first thing to keep in mind is that this is mainly a shopping and enrichment class guide. The restaurant sections are pretty thin and focus on chains. Wanna know if CPK is good for kids and where the one in your neighborhood is? Then you're great. Wanna eat somewhere other than the mall or Mimi's? Good Luck.

One other thing - it's a little repetitive. The guide is organized by topic and then geographical area (e.g. LA Metro or San Gabriel Valley) which means that chains and major franchises are listed in each area and often seem to have the same review. (Anyone who's visited both the West Covina and Van Nuys Babies R Us stores knows that the same review can't cover both of them.) To me, it just clutters the local area sections because you have to wade through all the stuff you know about to find what you're looking for - namely, unique and independent stores, restaurants, and activities.

All that said, I think the lilaguide is worth checking out for new parents. Though I'd love you to buy it through Amazon,the best way to get a copy is to go to lilaguide.com and get it for free. All you have to do is complete short surveys for at least 10 listings - it'll probably take you under an hour and you get the book for free. What a deal.