Disney's new magazine for "education obsessed" moms set to debut

by J.D. Griffioen (Subscribe to J.D. Griffioen's posts)
Jan 24th 2006 4:30PM

Last October, Stefania Butler brought the news that the Disney Corporation was ready to enter the crowded field of parenting magazines. That magazine, Wondertime, is set to debut next month, and the New York Times is reporting that the magazine is "aimed at education-obsessed parents of the very young." According to that article, Disney's is specifically targeting moms (is there a single parenting magazine that even considers fathers a part of its target audience?), of children from birth to age 6. Alexandra Kennedy, the vice president and editorial director of the United States consumer magazine group at Disney, says "We want to help moms understand how children are learning and growing," she said. The Times reports her as claiming that unlike most parenting magazines, which help women with their new roles as mothers, Wondertime will help them support their children's learning. Hmmm. I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that Disney owns Baby Einstein.

The first issue will include articles on what babies know within hours of birth; how children understand concepts of time like duration, clocks and tomorrow; and what preschool teachers can teach mothers about instilling virtues such as kindness. In coming months, I expect articles on how sitting your kid in front of a television watching Baby Einstein stimulates the "genius" part of the brain and how princesses are good role models for little girls.