The magazine aims at filling a gap in the market. An official release informs that the majority of the 30+ parenting titles in the marketplace serve the parents of babies and none is aimed at parents of children older than seven.

BBC Parenting’s MD Pamela Janson-Smith was quoted as saying: “We are going to go where no other title has dared to go and serve all parents of toddlers to 12-year-olds. We’ll talk about the wonder as well as the worry of parenting. The intention is to be a reliable and useful friend to mums and dads.”

BBC Parenting replaces Parentwise - a small, independent title acquired by BBC Magazines earlier this year. With an initial print-run of 100,000 and 132 pages, BBC Parenting will feature celebrity parents, education, childcare, health, fashion, lifestyle, sex, family relationships, gardening, food, travel, entertainment and much more.

BBC Magazines is a division of BBC Worldwide Ltd, the commercial consumer arm of the BBC. It claims to be the UK’s third largest consumer magazines publisher, with a portfolio of more than 30 regular titles for adults, teenagers and children and a combined circulation of 4.2 million (ABC: July to December 2002).