Jump! Mag

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Would you like to contribute to Jump! Mag? Email us, using the Contact Us form at the bottom of this page.

Pre-teens or teens are especially welcome to write for our #writtenbyyou section. Please have a parent or guardian contact us to give permission for you to submit an article.

Parents – please resist the urge to ‘tidy up’ your child’s contribution. We only edit articles by our pre-teen or teen readers if the meaning is unclear, not to correct grammar or spelling mistakes. Your child has an authentic voice; we don’t meddle with it.

News & Politics

Let Toys Be Toys

Have you ever noticed that children’s toys are often labeled as “Boys” or “Girls” toys?

Very often, the girls’ toy area will be a sea of pink and glitter with a lot of beauty, cooking, fashion and baby doll items. The boys’ area will have action figures, construction and science kids, plastic guns and dinosaurs. Even board games can sometimes be separated in this way. Tina takes a closer look at why this is unfair for all kids, and what a group called Let Toys be Toys are doing about it.

Art & History

Historical Fiction for Kids – A Book Review

What better way to #jumpintohistory, than to immerse yourself in historical fiction for kids… but where to start?

With so many great titles to chose from, you might find it difficult to plump for one of them. Louise is a life-long bookworm, and lover of historical fiction, and has some great tips.

I have always loved reading fiction books about history, especially books about girls.

I grew up reading fiction books about the lives of girls: Johanna Spyri’s Heidi, L.M Montgomery’s Emily of New Moon and Anne of Green Gables, Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, and Susan Coolidge’s What Katy Did series. I loved Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House in the Big Woods series, which is the story of Laura’s life growing in 19^th century America. I always wanted to be Laura and have adventures living in the middle of nowhere surrounded by woods, although I am still not very keen about the lack of indoor plumbing.

Home, Health & Style, Popular

A Controlling Friendship – A Bully By Another Name

Have you ever had a friend who made you feel bad? Maybe your friend was mean to you sometimes, and confused you. Or she (or he) would ignore you because you had done something wrong.

We all fall out with our friends on occasion, even us adults. It is a normal part of life.

When the friendship is one-sided then it is a different story. Then we might say it is a ‘controlling friendship’.

Travel

The Ultimate Guide for Kids to Pack Your Own Suitcase

Welcome to our ultimate guide for kids to pack your own suitcase!

When I was a kid, my parents were Scout leaders and one of their rules was that kids should pack their own suitcases. My mum always said that if the kids packed themselves, they knew what they had in their bag or rucksack and how to find things. And they were able to pack to go home.

Now I have my own kids, I can see exactly what she meant. My kids have been packing their own suitcases since they were little. In the beginning, I’d check to ensure that they didn’t have 12 t-shirts and one pair of trousers for a week-long holiday but now I just remind them to take their toothbrush and any vital pieces of kit.