From our archives: on the letters page

Conflicts between mothers and nannies were also rife, as shown in an extract from Women's Periodicals and Print Culture in Britain, 1918-1939: Chapter 16: Friendship and Support, Conflict and Rivalry: Multiple Uses of the Correspondence Column in Childcare Magazines, 1919–39

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The expansion of nursery training and a new focus on the importance of educating as well as caring for young children meant that Nursery World, which first appeared in 1925, filled a significant gap in the market. Claiming to be ‘the only magazine in the Kingdom devoted to the greatest profession in the world – the profession of the nursery’ (3 Dec 1925: 1), it seems to have been unique among mainstream women’s magazines in its assumption that the interests of both mother and nanny needed to be addressed. Like the college magazines, Nursery World contained articles written by experts on different aspects of childcare: physical, mental, educational and emotional life. At 2d a copy, however, it was much less expensive than the PCC Magazine (which only appeared annually and cost 1s 6d) and was similar in appearance and frequency to the ubiquitous tuppenny domestic weekly women’s magazines.