I never really cared for The Beano as a kid, although I had it on order for years. IPC/Fleetway fare always felt more fun and anarchic, although I bought lots of Whoopee and Whizzer & Chips (along with the odd Buster) with my pocket money.
Having not picked up a Beano for years, I grabbed one recently at Waterloo, given that it was bagged with an annual. I've been reading it through with the 4yo. I quite like it, even if the scripts are a bit corny, and too much humour is reliant on wordplay (which goes right over the head of my kid, given her age). I do quite like how the gender balance is a lot better now, even if some of the actual strips remain a bit too rooted in their original eras. (Quite why there's only one girl in the Bash Street Kids’ class, I don't know.)
Once I've read the annual through, I'll try the Cor/Buster special on the nipper and report back.