Kids are great, aren’t they? They do great things, and say great stuff and eat great food like Frosties.

Well actually, no, they’re not. They can be a right pain in the backside sometimes. Just this last weekend I spent an hour and a half doing the voices for my 3-year-old daughter’s 200-odd teddy bears, each one of which had to visit the doctor with the same ailment (sore knee) that resulted from the same accident (fell in hole in street) and needed the same treatment (some pills, a plaster and no exercise for 3 weeks).

After that I was held at gun point until I joined in with some sort of dance routine from Lazy Town. I don’t want to be Sporticus. I don’t look anything like him. I haven’t got a moustache, for one.

I don’t really know where I’m going with all this, except to say that having kids at least gives you the excuse to buy Anorak Magazine, a beautiful publication put together by Cathy Olmedillas and Rob Lowe. This Rob Lowe, not that one.

It’s filled with some superb illustrations and there’s no sign of Robbie Rotten or The Quizzator or The Numberjacks or Mr-Frickin’-Tumble. And no, there’s no free gift on the cover either. But it’s not just the illustrations that are beautiful – the writing’s brilliant too, including reviews by kids and stories called “The Story of the Three-Eyed Dog Who Landed Back On Earth”, “How Mr Toast Spent His Summer” and “Raymondo: The Depressed Rainbow”.

If you’re a) super-talented, b) a student, and c) quick, then you’ll also be able to enter their competition to design a cover. Deadline is the 30th October.

Anorak Magazine is available quarterly in Borders stores and selected shops around the country. Or you can buy a subscription online for a more than reasonable price. It’s described as ‘The Happy Mag for Kids.’ I’d have to agree. (And no, I’m not on commission for writing this.)