Today’s Parent

Today's Parent
One Mount Pleasant Road
8th floorToronto, Ontario
Canada M4Y 2Y5

Today's Parent is a consumer magazine for parents with children up to the age of 14. The circulation is approximately 215,000. There are 12 issues per year.

The magazine relies on freelancers for its content and is a good market both for experienced writers and newcomers.

Departments Assigned to Freelancers

Your Turn (every issue): a first–person forum for parents to share their experiences. Please note that we prefer to reserve this column for our readers (i.e., beginners) rather than professional writers. (650 words; $200). Submit complete article to Your Turn: yourturn@todaysparent.com. For all other departments, query first.

Mom Time (every issue): recognizes that mothers are women, too, and deals with topics not directly related to parenting, including health, fitness, wellness, relationships, beauty and fashion. (1,200 words; $1,200)

Education (every issue, except possibly July and August): tackles both straightforward subjects – helping with homework, field trips – and controversial or complex topics such as French immersion or phonics vs. whole language. The writer should avoid taking an academic or politicized approach. Education issues (e.g. standardized testing, public vs. private schools) are also occasionally covered in feature articles. (1,200 words; $1,200)

Health (every issue): deals with common health issues affecting children – how to take a temperature, common baby ailments, ear infections – but also includes some investigative topics (e.g. are parents overusing the hospital ER?) The tone should be helpful, not alarmist. Health issues (including controversial ones) are also occasionally covered in feature articles. (1,200 words; $1,200)

Behaviour (semi–regular): focuses on child development and discipline. Again, experiences or problems common to many families are preferable to extreme cases. We're looking for a supportive, constructive tone that acknowledges a variety of parenting styles. (1,200 words; $1,200)

Several departments are written by regular contributors and are not open to freelancers. These include Uncommon Sense, Nutrition, Cooking With Kids and Steps and Stages.

Features

Today's Parent runs features of varying lengths in each issue, with a balance between the practical and the reflective, the light–hearted and the investigative. All articles should be grounded in the reality of Canadian family life. Without claiming to know all the answers, we try to leave the reader with a sense of positive direction.

Feature topics can include such diverse stories as the evolving role of fathers, choosing the discipline technique that's right for your child, dealing with picky eaters, postpartum depression, returning to work, sex after childbirth, birthday party ideas, surrogate motherhood and child poverty. With some topics, the writer's personal experience as a parent adds a rich layer to the storytelling.

Word length and fees vary depending on the length complexity of the story – usually 1,500 to 2,500 words, $1,500 to $2,500.

How to Submit Queries

Please do not telephone queries. Send a detailed proposal by e-mail, mail or fax rather than a completed manuscript (except for Your Turn). If it's your first contact with us, enclose samples of previously published work. Queries should have a specific hook, not just a subject area (e.g. the pros and cons of the family bed, not just "kids' sleep") and should have wide appeal for a national audience (camping in New Brunswick is too local; coping with cystic fibrosis too specialized). Please indicate the word length you consider appropriate for the story. Please note that if we are interested in your story idea, we will contact you within six weeks.

Because we promote ourselves as a Canadian magazine, we favour Canadian writers.

Email queries to: E-mail: queries@tpg.rogers.com

Full submission guidelines available here, inclduing guidelines for Today's Parent siste publications, Pregnancy & Birth and Baby & Toddler.

Note: For information about Brian Henry’s upcoming writing workshops and courses see here.