I helped kill the Ladies Home Journal

in , , , , , , by Linda A Kinsman, Friday, April 25, 2014

There, I’ve said it. I’ve owned right up to the fact that even though I am a homemaker and a devout lover of magazines and print media- I never read or subscribed to the Ladies Home Journal.  Never once found myself flipping through the pages while waiting anywhere and today was my very first time visiting their website, just so I could see their cover.


Magazine cover
Source

Ads sell magazines, pure and simple- and you can read what the Ladies Home Journal Magazine parent company Meredith said to The New York Times to fully understand the drop in numbers. But to sell ads, a magazine has to have readers. 

Looking at this cover I have to ask myself why didn't I read this magazine? 

The sad answer, in my opinion,  is the very reason the Ladies Home Journal is laying people off, stopping monthly printing and going to quarterly - it was my Grandma’s magazine.  It was proudly displayed on her highly polished coffee table; right beside the big ashtray nobody ever dared use.

My Mom got it only when somebody gifted a yearly subscription to her (usually my Grandma) and I can remember watching her flip through it while she was on the phone. She wasn’t really reading it, just looking- and as a teen, I picked up on her cues and figured that was one boring magazine- so I didn’t bother picking it up.

Even though I didn’t read the Ladies Home Journal, the reality is this is another blow to the art of Homemaking and that saddens me. I know so many women who have shared with me in confidence that they don’t know how to cook or clean or sew or “do” anything domestic and they blame their Moms. 

I’m not saying I agree with all that blame- I know most Moms need to work outside of the home. I get that.  What I am saying is our children need resources on how to be a homemaker even if that is after working 8 hours a day.  My Mom worked outside the home and still managed to instill in me the love of a clean home, a hot meal and freshly washed sheets. My Mom taught me because her Mom taught her so I teach my girls.

But what if you are one of the countless women whose Moms didn't get taught domestic skills to pass down to you? What resources do you have? What about our kids? 

Most schools don’t teach home economics anymore, most Moms work outside the home as did their Moms and maybe even their Grandma’s- so is the art of homemaking going the way of print magazines?

I hope not.

It is my hope that we Moms will get in touch with our inner domestic goddess and pass that on to our kids so they don’t grow up, move out and then blame us for not equipping them with basic life skills. 

Our kids already move easily in this digital age- why not toss them a curve ball and put a broom in their hand and teach them to properly sweep a floor? And if you are already teaching homemaking skills to your children, I say thank you!

I'll be adding more homemaking posts here on my blog to help Moms who may need another resource too, so please check back in.


I am sorry to say I won’t be subscribing to the Ladies Home Journal just to try and save it.  Now, if my favorite magazines, Better Home and Gardens and Good Housekeeping find themselves in trouble?

Count me in.

Share in comments: What magazines do you subscribe to and read in print form?