Substitute families

Tomorrow's issue of Pink, the 15th, has been spruced up and tweaked in time for the New Year. But barring the subtle design changes, the previous ingredients are still in the mix.

Over the past few issues, children and the family have been a prime focus and, as a natural progression, they have remained so.

The November edition started off highlighting the plight of a single mother and her unwanted baby, moving on to the woes and joys of adoption and further on to fostering in January's issue, which is being distributed with The Times tomorrow.

Pink finds that although the responsibilities of foster parents seem to be more toned down because they are not daily, or forever, as in the case of adoption, fostering is still a major challenge for the "substitute" parents. Love may not be all you need in these situations but if anyone has what it takes, they would be doing a world of good to abandoned kids by offering them a sense of family life and a taste of home.

Continuing on Pink's quest to dig up issues that are relatively unknown, tomorrow's edition unearths information about a health condition that is not as rare as its name sounds. When a sufferer of the neurological disorder, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, which affects mobility, started to research her disorder, she began to move on in life - in more ways than one. She now wants anyone with her same condition to be able to follow in her footsteps - even in the literal sense of the word!

Meanwhile, everyone's talking about dieting and exercise after the excesses of the festive season, which though seemingly light-years away, have managed to leave a mark on the physiques of the less strong-willed. But there are other ways in which people can feel good about themselves - from reinvigorating oxygen treatments for the face and skin to eating certain foods that can do away with the blues.

The party season may be over and the sales have kicked in, but fashion still rocks, thanks also to Pink's ShowStopper team, who pour their creativity and flair into every issue.

Pink's executive editors are Fiona Galea Debono and Ariadne Massa. The magazine is published by Allied Newspapers Ltd, produced by MediaMaker and designed by Helen Cassar Torreggiani and Joseph Schembri.