parenting columns?
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Do you mean you're trying to pick up a regular gig as a columnist? If so, I can't help you, but I can offer some ideas for reading.<br><br>
Brain,Child magazine is great<br>
Family Fun has two essay sections open to freelancers--"My Great Idea" and "Family Ties"--they pay over $1000 each<br>
Parenting magazine<br>
HipMama<br><br>
good luck!
Brain,Child magazine is great<br>
Family Fun has two essay sections open to freelancers--"My Great Idea" and "Family Ties"--they pay over $1000 each<br>
Parenting magazine<br>
HipMama<br><br>
good luck!
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1,022 Posts
Also try literymama.com, austinmama.com and phillymama.com<br><img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile">
Thank you - headed to check out all those sites now.<br><br>
gurumama - yes - i am trying to pick up a regular gig hopefully - but not at any of these places - i have a target paper in mind - who currently does not have a parenting or mothering type column, so i just wanted to read others which have been published for $$ to see how they compare to my already written essays.
gurumama - yes - i am trying to pick up a regular gig hopefully - but not at any of these places - i have a target paper in mind - who currently does not have a parenting or mothering type column, so i just wanted to read others which have been published for $$ to see how they compare to my already written essays.
I wrote a parenting column for a progressive magazine for a few years. I approached them by pointing out that their demographics include many people of childbearing age and that progressive natural-living families could make a huge difference if given support and information. Unfortunately, it's not online.<br><br>
But some of my pieces were:<br>
Eating Out: Nursing in Public<br>
The Poop on Cloth Diapers<br>
Chewing the Fat: Correspondence with Kraft<br>
Feeling TranSporty: Getting Around Cleaner and Leaner<br>
Heard it Through the Grapevine... Kind Of. (about online support for natural families)<br>
Shopping at Our Neighbors': A Lesson in Fun (about buying second-hand)<br><br>
Most pieces were about 800 words plus a small sidebar.
But some of my pieces were:<br>
Eating Out: Nursing in Public<br>
The Poop on Cloth Diapers<br>
Chewing the Fat: Correspondence with Kraft<br>
Feeling TranSporty: Getting Around Cleaner and Leaner<br>
Heard it Through the Grapevine... Kind Of. (about online support for natural families)<br>
Shopping at Our Neighbors': A Lesson in Fun (about buying second-hand)<br><br>
Most pieces were about 800 words plus a small sidebar.
Oh, I found one on a disk. (Sorry for hogging this whole page)<br>
Chewing the Fat: Correspondence with Kraft<br><br>
This issue's column was going to be called "Shunning Gerber, Questioning Ferber: On Eating and Sleeping."I was going to write about Gerber's shameful practices, which are in violation of the World Health Organization's guidelines for promotion and distribution of their products. I was also going to discuss childhood sleep issues, specifically the recent misleading recommendation by the Consumer Products Safety Commission regarding co-sleeping, and the work and methods of Dr. Ferber. Then something got my blood boiling. Bear with me while I speak my mind.<br><br>
While reading the Sunday paper I decided to leaf through the advertisements. One really disturbed me. I read it a few times and set it aside. It was a piece from Kraft showing how to simplify your life using their products. It proudly proclaimed it was "making the most of mealtimes."I thought of a few things to say to Kraft. The thoughts weren't very nice.I decided to sleep on it.The next day for fun I cruised the online listings of upcoming television shows.I saw Jenny Jones was going to be about fat children and the parents who over-feed and mis-feed them. I had to check it out.I couldn't keep watching. It made me want to cry.Really. There were these poor babies who were too obese to lead normal lives. Children from seven months old (30 pounds) to fifteen years (over 600 pounds) were on the show. There were two and four-year olds being fed Twinkies and Slim Jims and chips and sodas and fast food meals and all kinds of grossness. Their mothers were saying things like, "It's my kid, so you got nothin' to say about it. You wanna come over to my house and listen to her scream when I say 'no'? Then you shut your mouth."I feel sick just thinking about what they were doing to their children, dooming them to illness, disease, taunting and discomfort.They were polluting innocent little bodies and going against everything nature intended for these precious bundles of potential. They thought it made their children happy.<br><br>
Even sadder, I didn't wonder how it happened. I returned to the Kraft advertisement and composed an e-mail.I didn't talk about range lands, landfills or processing and shipping.I didn't talk about hormones or genetically altered foods.I avoided many of the topics manufacturers should be taken to task for.I tried to keep it pretty mainstream, so they wouldn't dismiss me as a wacky outspoken hippie.<br><br>
Dear Kraft Foods,<br><br>
I just had to write to tell you my feelings about the insert in my Sunday paper.The "Kraft Food and Family" insert was disgusting. With heart disease and obesity so high in so many age groups, how can you promote this kind of eating without including nutrition information and suggestions for side dishes with some vegetables and fiber? One recipe takes Deluxe Mac and Cheese and adds more cheese, sour cream, and butter to it. Another suggests adding hot dogs to your Mac and Cheese. High fat, salt laden dishes may taste good and contribute to your company's coffers, but you won't have these customers as long as you have those who understand how to eat healthy meals!<br><br>
Another part of this marketing piece had a letter from a customer talking about letting her children pick out Oscar Mayer Lunchables. What a nice bonding moment -- letting your children participate in choosing high fat, high sodium meals all wrapped up in a plastic packaging nightmare.<br><br>
If you want to sell your products, that's fine -- but do it honestly and with a conscience. Don't do it under the guise of "Making the most of mealtime," unless you're talking about making the most mistakes for your family's health and the futures of your children.<br><br>
Regards,<br><br>
My Name Here<br><br>
I got a reply via e-mail the next day.<br><br>
Kraft_Onlineteam17 wrote:<br><br>
Thanks for visiting our Web site.<br><br>
We're sorry to learn you're disappointed with our advertising.<br><br>
We're always concerned when one of our consumers expresses disappointment in an advertising campaign.With today's diversified audiences, and differences of opinions and tastes, it's often difficult to produce advertising that appeals to everyone.Through the years, public reaction to our commercials and print advertisements has been very favorable.<br><br>
We're always interested in the opinions of our consumers.While there aren't any plans to remove the advertisement at this time, we have forwarded your comments to our staff for their benefit.<br><br>
Please add our site to your bookmarks, and visit us again soon!<br><br>
So, there it was.They reduced their part in promoting a nationwide health crisis to a difference of opinions and tastes. But they amicably invited me to visit them again soon.I didn't expect anything different, but I had to see what they'd say.Perhaps you'd like to visit <a href="http://www.kraftfoods.com" target="_blank">http://www.kraftfoods.com</a>, take a tour of their website offerings and menu ideas, and drop them a line letting them know how lucky Jenny Jones is to have companies like Kraft providing a steady stream of unhealthy children and mislead parents for our viewing pleasure.Pass the Miracle Whip. This is a bunch of bologna.<br><br>
SIDE BAR:<br><br>
Junk food trivia<br><br>
As of February, 2000, there were 29,785 web pages found with the word Jello in them.<br><br>
"Valentines Creamy Jigglers" are not porn stars. They are a dessert item featured in Kraft's "Recipe of the day" in February.
Chewing the Fat: Correspondence with Kraft<br><br>
This issue's column was going to be called "Shunning Gerber, Questioning Ferber: On Eating and Sleeping."I was going to write about Gerber's shameful practices, which are in violation of the World Health Organization's guidelines for promotion and distribution of their products. I was also going to discuss childhood sleep issues, specifically the recent misleading recommendation by the Consumer Products Safety Commission regarding co-sleeping, and the work and methods of Dr. Ferber. Then something got my blood boiling. Bear with me while I speak my mind.<br><br>
While reading the Sunday paper I decided to leaf through the advertisements. One really disturbed me. I read it a few times and set it aside. It was a piece from Kraft showing how to simplify your life using their products. It proudly proclaimed it was "making the most of mealtimes."I thought of a few things to say to Kraft. The thoughts weren't very nice.I decided to sleep on it.The next day for fun I cruised the online listings of upcoming television shows.I saw Jenny Jones was going to be about fat children and the parents who over-feed and mis-feed them. I had to check it out.I couldn't keep watching. It made me want to cry.Really. There were these poor babies who were too obese to lead normal lives. Children from seven months old (30 pounds) to fifteen years (over 600 pounds) were on the show. There were two and four-year olds being fed Twinkies and Slim Jims and chips and sodas and fast food meals and all kinds of grossness. Their mothers were saying things like, "It's my kid, so you got nothin' to say about it. You wanna come over to my house and listen to her scream when I say 'no'? Then you shut your mouth."I feel sick just thinking about what they were doing to their children, dooming them to illness, disease, taunting and discomfort.They were polluting innocent little bodies and going against everything nature intended for these precious bundles of potential. They thought it made their children happy.<br><br>
Even sadder, I didn't wonder how it happened. I returned to the Kraft advertisement and composed an e-mail.I didn't talk about range lands, landfills or processing and shipping.I didn't talk about hormones or genetically altered foods.I avoided many of the topics manufacturers should be taken to task for.I tried to keep it pretty mainstream, so they wouldn't dismiss me as a wacky outspoken hippie.<br><br>
Dear Kraft Foods,<br><br>
I just had to write to tell you my feelings about the insert in my Sunday paper.The "Kraft Food and Family" insert was disgusting. With heart disease and obesity so high in so many age groups, how can you promote this kind of eating without including nutrition information and suggestions for side dishes with some vegetables and fiber? One recipe takes Deluxe Mac and Cheese and adds more cheese, sour cream, and butter to it. Another suggests adding hot dogs to your Mac and Cheese. High fat, salt laden dishes may taste good and contribute to your company's coffers, but you won't have these customers as long as you have those who understand how to eat healthy meals!<br><br>
Another part of this marketing piece had a letter from a customer talking about letting her children pick out Oscar Mayer Lunchables. What a nice bonding moment -- letting your children participate in choosing high fat, high sodium meals all wrapped up in a plastic packaging nightmare.<br><br>
If you want to sell your products, that's fine -- but do it honestly and with a conscience. Don't do it under the guise of "Making the most of mealtime," unless you're talking about making the most mistakes for your family's health and the futures of your children.<br><br>
Regards,<br><br>
My Name Here<br><br>
I got a reply via e-mail the next day.<br><br>
Kraft_Onlineteam17 wrote:<br><br>
Thanks for visiting our Web site.<br><br>
We're sorry to learn you're disappointed with our advertising.<br><br>
We're always concerned when one of our consumers expresses disappointment in an advertising campaign.With today's diversified audiences, and differences of opinions and tastes, it's often difficult to produce advertising that appeals to everyone.Through the years, public reaction to our commercials and print advertisements has been very favorable.<br><br>
We're always interested in the opinions of our consumers.While there aren't any plans to remove the advertisement at this time, we have forwarded your comments to our staff for their benefit.<br><br>
Please add our site to your bookmarks, and visit us again soon!<br><br>
So, there it was.They reduced their part in promoting a nationwide health crisis to a difference of opinions and tastes. But they amicably invited me to visit them again soon.I didn't expect anything different, but I had to see what they'd say.Perhaps you'd like to visit <a href="http://www.kraftfoods.com" target="_blank">http://www.kraftfoods.com</a>, take a tour of their website offerings and menu ideas, and drop them a line letting them know how lucky Jenny Jones is to have companies like Kraft providing a steady stream of unhealthy children and mislead parents for our viewing pleasure.Pass the Miracle Whip. This is a bunch of bologna.<br><br>
SIDE BAR:<br><br>
Junk food trivia<br><br>
As of February, 2000, there were 29,785 web pages found with the word Jello in them.<br><br>
"Valentines Creamy Jigglers" are not porn stars. They are a dessert item featured in Kraft's "Recipe of the day" in February.
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