KateSpot

See?

So, as the girls fight over pool toys merrily splash and laugh while frolicking in the pool, I relax with my magazine. I lazily flick the pages, reviewing the table of contents. So far so good. I anticipate reading the interviews of four moms listed under the "real life" section.

The first interview was titled "meet a Real Simple mom". I know the magazine is called Real Simple but couldn't they come up with a better title than that? You know - it reads like the mom is simple..duuhh simple. But, what really sent me over the edge was an article titled "they've got your back"

This article was all about helping us dopey parents choose and purchase a backpack that would be specific to your child's needs. I know what my child needs - something to carry her books, notebooks, and lunchbox. But wait, I am getting ahead of myself. Real Simple had the reviews broken down into age groups, for example, best for toddlers, best for ages four to seven, best for teenage boys, and best for teenage girls. What really tweaked me the most was the $100 dollar Jansport backpack recommended for teenage girls. Yes, you read that right. A $100 backpack. The other backpacks were, in order, $35, $26.50, and $30. Even worse was the written review of this one particular backpack:

Meet the ultimate media-savvy sack. Your daughter can slip her iPod into the exterior pocket, plug it in, then use the buttons on the padded strap to switch from Gwen Stefani to Hilary Duff. Inside, you'll find organizing pockets for a cell phone and other adolescent necessities, like lip gloss and Sour Patch Kids. Also available in black and houndstooth

I've got numerous problems with this particular review. First of all, $100? For a backpack? Cut me a frigging break. BUT, I found it offensive in the way the review was written. A place for my daughter's lip gloss? And her iPod? Thank goodness she has a place to store them - don't worry about books or anything like that. All your daughter needs to do is listen to her pop music, apply her lip gloss, and eat candy. WTF? Is it me? Seriously - Real Simple expects me to run out and purchase this backpack because it's "media-savvy"? It's a dang backpack!

The teenage boy's backpack, which was only $30, states this:

Equipped with exterior bungee cord pockets for securing water bottles or sports equipment, a supplies organizer, a detachable Velcro case, and an iPod holder with an exit port for headphones, this satchel comes with a protective bottom to guard against wear and tear that goes with, you know, being a teenage boy. Also comes in two other colors

Again, no mention of those silly things one may get from school, like, you know, books. While this backpack had a slight mention of being sturdy, again, it's all about the iPod. At least this review didn't mention lip gloss.

I am very disappointed with Real Simple. I thought they were better than that.

Shame on you.

Oh - here's a copy of the email I sent to Real Simple (yourwords@realsimple.com):

I just received a copy of Real Simple Family and I had to email you about the reviews of the backpacks on pages 106 and 107. I was quite disappointed to read that the one backpack that was reviewed for teenage girls was not only $100 (which is quite a bit more costly than the one reviewed for teenage boys) but the review was, frankly speaking, obnoxious. A place for "adolescent necessities" like lip gloss and candy? A place to keep cell phones and iPods? Not once was there a mention of how sturdy the backpack was or how many books it could hold. In fact, there was no mention of books whatsoever. Shame on you Real Simple.

I do enjoy reading Real Simple and I look forward to reading next month's copy. Please, in the future, try to have more balanced and reasonable reviews of your products