Our Favorite Magazine Subscriptions for Kids

Parents share the best magazine subscriptions for kids that their own families read and love! These are perfect for kids to enjoy on their own or with you, whether they love nature, sports, the outdoors, space or animals.

Fun and educational kids magazines will give them something to look forward to in the mail each month and help your children continue learning at home.

Vote for the best magazines for kids below, and find more fun kid-friendly subscriptions for young readers on our list of the best book subscription boxes!


 

    National Geographic Kids

    Time

    10 issues per year

    Ages

    Age 7-12

    Erin P.:  This magazine will help your child have a better understanding of just how interesting the world can be. National Geographic Kids magazines will often have stories and highlights about animals, countries, cultures and history. Sign up your inquisitive child for this subscription! There is a separate bi-monthly magazine called National Geographic Little Kids for the younger set age 3-6.

    Ranger Rick

    Time

    10 issues per year (6 issues for Ranger Rick Cub)

    Ages

    Age 0-12

    Erin P.:  Ranger Rick is one of the best magazine subscriptions for kids who love animals. There are three age levels for Ranger Rick magazines: Ranger Rick (age 7-12), Ranger Rick Jr. (age 4-7), and Ranger Rick Cub (age 0-4). Ranger Rick magazines have lots of animal photos, puzzles, contests and crafts.

    Highlights

    Time

    12 issues per year

    Ages

    Age 0-12

    Erin P.:  Highlights is a long-time standby, and for those of us who remember reading the magazine when we were growing up, it can be a nice opportunity to bond with our kids. There are three different magazine subscriptions for kids, based on age. Highlights Magazine for school-age kids, High Five for preschoolers, and Hello for babies and toddlers. The magazines include stories, brain teasers, games, crafts and more.

    Muse

    Time

    9 issues per year

    Ages

    Age 9-14

    Gina I.:  With quirky facts and thought-provoking articles, Muse magazines for kids are perfect for young scientists and aspiring artists. Muse offers 9 issues per year filled with experiments, jokes, puzzles and more. Parents will love that Muse is ad free.

    The Week Junior

    Alexandra F.:  I have been enjoying The Week for years, with its short, comprehensive and diverse roundup of the most significant news of the week, from current events, lifestyle, business, science, entertainment and more. This version for younger readers is a wonderful and digestible news source for kids who are a little older, to let them begin keeping up with current events and learn interesting facts tailored for their age.

    Sports Illustrated Kids

    Time

    6 issues per year

    Ages

    Age 8-14

    Erin P.:  Sports Illustrated Kids brings relatable sports stories about today’s famous athletes and sports teams to our children. These magazines for kids include posters, trading cards, games and trivia. Issues feature amateur athletes and child athletes, which helps to teach your child some good lessons about working hard!

    LEGO Life

    Time

    4 issues per year

    Price

    Free

    Ages

    Age 5-9

    Chris:  LEGO Life magazine is a fun magazine for kids between the ages 5 and 9. It has comics, building ideas, games, and pictures of other kids' great builds -- you might even be able to see your own creation featured in print. It comes out 4 times a year, and best of all, it's 100% free. Just sign up for a LEGO account (also free) and you'll start getting the magazine a few weeks later.

    OWL

    Time

    10 issues per year

    Ages

    Age 3-13

    Erin P.:  Owlkids magazines for kids inspire a love for reading and learning in a fun way, with three different versions available for ages 3 to 13. Chirp (age 3-6) is filled with engaging images, stories and activities. Chickadee (age 6-9) presents educational opportunities in a fun way through humor, comics and experiments. OWL (age 9-13) includes stories of interest to this age group, from sports to the environment.

    Whizz Pop Bang

    Time

    12 issues per year

    1, 6 or 12 month subscriptions

    Ages

    Age 6-12

    Erynn:  This science mag is a fantastic gender-neutral magazine for kids who love science. Every magazine has science related articles, experiments, and news. They even include interviews with real scientists. Also, it is completely ad-free so kids can focus on the content.

    Babybug

    Time

    9 issues per year

    Ages

    6 months-3 years

    Spark a love of reading with this magazine subscription for babies! The subscription includes nine magazines per year, full of colorful pictures and fun rhymes ideal for reading aloud. The magazines are made with durable paper with rounded corners and are lightweight and the perfect size to pack in the diaper bag.

    Girls’ World

    Time

    6 issues per year

    Ages

    Age 6-12

    Kristy Pepping:  My girls love this magazine and it makes a nice gift for tweens. It's a great option when they are over the school-aged magazine subscriptions for kids, but not old enough for the teen magazines. It's a lifestyle magazine that includes games, quizzes, fun calendars and interviews with young t.v. talent. Plus, it's age appropriate!

    Faces

    Time

    9 issues per year

    Ages

    Age 9-14

    Kelly R:  One of the best magazine subscriptions for kids to explore and understand the diverse world around them, Faces introduces kids to new people and places around the globe in each of its issues. High quality photographs and cool graphics pepper articles about the variety of amazing cultures and stories that make up our world. This magazine is ad-free.

    Kazoo Magazine

    Time

    4 issues per year

    Ages

    Age 5-12

    Kelly R:  Kazoo is a quarterly magazine that seeks to build confidence in girls and opens them up to the possibilities available to them in the world. It is filled with inspiring stories for girls which are contributed by noteworthy female writers, scientists, explorers, and more. Issues are ad-free (a hard thing to find in magazine subscriptions for kids!) and printed on recycled paper.

Primary photo:   Mikaela Wiedenhoff on Unsplash

Upparent collects community-submitted recommendations and reviews, and any ideas that are shared reflect the opinions of individual contributors.