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children
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Olive Oil 'For Kids' Is Apparently A Thing
By Laura Northrup on May 22, 2012 9:35 AM
45 Comments
Marketing material for Zoe brand organic extra virgin olive oil targeted at kids brags that it is "at the forefront of the burgeoning children's health food market." While the news that there is food targeted at children that doesn't contain alarming shades of food dye, high fructose corn syrup, trans fats, or even "cheez," it's still Olive Oil For Kids, and we're still going to snicker at it. More »
(teksmith)
How To Properly Bribe Your Kids Into Obedience
By Phil Villarreal on February 3, 2012 11:15 AM
39 Comments
Parents who don't admit to bribing their kids either aren't being honest or are missing out on a crucial technique that can bring peace and satisfaction to their households. Bribes, which can be described more charitably as reverse threats, can help parents get work done at home, delegate household chores to completion and preserve general sanity. More »
Should Companies Advertise To Kids At The Library?
By Laura Northrup on January 19, 2012 9:00 AM
55 Comments
Who doesn't like stuffed animals? Free stuffed animals, even! E. isn't happy, though. At storytime at her local public library, people representing Wells Fargo brought stuffed ponies with the Wells Fargo logo to distribute to the children, and donated a large pony to decorate the children's section. More »
While Mom Gambles, Repo Man Takes Away Car With Kid Inside
By Phil Villarreal on October 25, 2011 10:15 AM
156 Comments
A Florida woman who allegedly left her kid inside her car while she gambled at an internet cafe found her vehicle and child missing when she got back. It turns out a repo man had swooped in and taken her car, unaware of its precious cargo. Now the woman faces charges of neglect. More »
(CPSC)
Target Recalls Frog Masks That Could Suffocate Kids
By Phil Villarreal on October 24, 2011 8:30 AM
24 Comments
Some early bird parents who indulged their kids' wishes to dress up as frogs for Halloween will have to re-do their costume shopping. Target recalled 3,400 products called Children's Frog Masks due to a potential suffocation hazard. More »
Outback Steakhouse Gives 4-Year Old Free Vodka Slushie
By Ben Popken on September 8, 2011 3:00 PM
78 Comments
Another chain casual dining establishment is in trouble for accidentally serving alcohol to a child. This time the place is Outback Steakhouse and the child is a 4-year old girl. If the event had been memorialized with a scrapbook photo, the caption would read, "Gracie's first peach schnapps and vodka." More »
Fisher-Price Replaces Broken Bouncer, Shocks Customer
By Laura Northrup on August 4, 2011 9:35 AM
14 Comments
When the Fisher-Price Bouncer that Allison had received as a gift for her son stopped vibrating, Allison contacted Fisher-Price to see whether she could have the item repaired or replaced. Instead, the company turned around and just sent her a new one, no questions asked! More »
(KCRG)
Police Continue Battle Against Kiddie Lemonade Stand Menace
By Laura Northrup on August 3, 2011 9:30 AM
108 Comments
Every year, the Des Moines Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) pedals through towns across Iowa. Some children in Coralville, one of the ride's host towns, wanted to participate in the event by selling lemonade in front of their houses for a quarter per cup. Police celebrated their entrepreneurial spirit by promptly shutting down at least three lemonade stands for not obtaining $400 vendors' licenses and a health inspection. More »
Banzai Slide 'N Splash Whale Pool Box Vs. Reality
By Ben Popken on July 27, 2011 2:00 PM
97 Comments
Three years after we first started pointing it out, Banzai continues to make kiddie pools that are disproportionately smaller than they appear on the box. The latest to enrage the internet is their "Slip 'N Splash Whale Pool." On the box it shows four children frolicking. In real life, those would have to be tiny munchkin children. More »
9 Out Of 10 Parents Installing Car Seats Are Doing It Wrong
By Ben Popken on June 7, 2011 5:00 PM
80 Comments
According to the New York City Department of Transportation, 9 out of 10 parents install their child's car seat incorrectly. This could lead to your child getting hurt or killed in the event of an accident. Why risk it? Find an expert who can inspect your car seat and make sure you've put it in correctly. NHTSA has an online searchable database to find a certified technician near you. More »
Netflix Suggests That Your Child Watch A Very Educational Documentary About Porn
By Laura Northrup on June 2, 2011 8:00 AM
104 Comments
Okay, the category Dan and his family were browsing on Netflix is called "Feel-Good Movies." Not "Feel-Good G-Rated Movies," or "Feel-Good Kids' Movies." Still, he was still a little alarmed to see an R-rated documentary on the porn industry between the Rugrats and Leapfrog features recommended for his young son.
"Look what they suggest as 'a feel good movie' right in between Rugrats and Leap Frog," he writes. "Both children's programming and age appropriate for our son. Unlike their suggestion..." More »
J. Crew Replaces Dress Stained In Kindergarten Marker Mishap
By Laura Northrup on May 13, 2011 9:00 AM
35 Comments
Some of the stories of good customer service that we post are simply tales of good customer service executed by competent employees. These deserve praise, but don't compare to true "Above and Beyond" consumer experiences. That's what Jeremy's family experienced from J. Crew after a terrible fate befell their daughter's new dress (not pictured.) They called the store to see whether the dress was in stock so they could buy a replacement. Instead, J. Crew stunned the family by exchanging the damaged dress for a new one at no charge. More »
3,900 School Buses Recalled For Fire Risk
By Ben Popken on April 11, 2011 10:00 AM
14 Comments
The wheels on the bus go round and round. The starter cables on the bus rub against the power steering hose, rub rub rub. 3,900 Bluebird school buses have been recalled for a defect that could result in a fire. The affect buses are model year 2004 through 2006, made from June 26, 2003, through December 9, 2004. Recall notices will start to go out to owners May 11, but if they don't feel like waiting they can call the NHTSA hotline at 1-888-327-4236. More »
Crayola's Colorful Bubbles Delight Children, Stain Everything
By Laura Northrup on April 5, 2011 3:00 PM
63 Comments
How would you like to blow bubbles in bright colors? Sounds awesome, right? Crayola's new washable Colorful Bubbles seem like an amazing idea, especially if their bright colors don't stain. Except some parents are complaining online that they kind of, um, do. More »
(tuchodi)
Mash Up Gender-Targeted Toy Advertisements For Your Amusement
By Laura Northrup on March 22, 2011 10:00 AM
74 Comments
The average child watches thousands of television commercials every year. Ads geared to kids don't just encourage purchases of mass-produced plastic toys and mass-produced junk food: they also enforce rigid gender stereotypes about who should be playing with which kind of toy. Girls want sparkly pink ponies that bake cupcakes and need to be fed bottles, and boys want loud, fast remote-controlled tanks that shoot lasers and green slime. But happens when you pair the audio to a "boy" ad with the video to a "girl" ad? More »
8-Year-Old Girl Racks Up $1,400 Bill Playing "Smurfs Village" iPad Game
By Ben Popken on February 9, 2011 3:00 PM
229 Comments
A 2nd-grader managed to rack up a $1,400 bill for her parents over break while playing the "Smurfs Village", a Farmville-esque iPad game, reports the Washington Post. Like many of these app-based games, the game is free but you can purchase in-app upgrades, with real money, to speed your progress. In this case, you can get a "bucket of snowflakes" for $19 or a "wagon of smurfberries" for $99. Needless to say, her mother became quite blue in the face. More »
(ronnyg)
"Shocked" That It's Not Healthy, Mother Sues Nutella
By Ben Popken on February 7, 2011 1:00 PM
216 Comments
A mother of a four-year old child has filed a class action lawsuit against delicious hazelnut spread Nutella. In her complaint, the mother says she was as "shocked to learn" from her friends "that Nutella was in fact not a 'healthy,' 'nutritious' food," as advertised, "but was instead the next best thing to a candy bar." More »
(balmes)
Would You Pay Extra For An Adult-Only Flight?
By Ben Popken on February 7, 2011 10:00 AM
286 Comments
In a recent survey of business class travelers, when asked what annoys them about first-class travel, 74% of them said "children." The respondents are clamoring for airlines to start offering children-free or 18+ only flights. So here's the question: would you pay extra for a seat on a kid-free flight? Take our poll and sound off! More »
(moonpir)
Why Do Happy Meals Have To Be Sexist?
By Laura Northrup on January 7, 2011 8:00 AM
314 Comments
Rose has a problem with McDonald's. It's a relatively tiny one, but something that she wishes McDonald's would fix. See, for her occasional visits to buy Happy Meals for her kids, she would prefer not to be asked whether she wants a "girl toy" or a "boy toy." More »
Start A Co-Op Preschool
By Ben Popken on September 29, 2010 5:00 PM
47 Comments
Preschools can be a giant chunk of change, so some parents are banding together and forming their own unofficial co-op preschools. Tuition is minimal and mainly goes to paying the teacher (that they get to choose), and they save on overhead by rotating the location between different family's homes. There are definitely some considerations to figure out. People who've done it before advise: More »
