Consumerist
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ask the consumerists
How Do You Explain Invisible Money To Your Kids?
Learning about how money works is important for children. But today, when all of our transactions seem to take with the mysterious swipe of a card, or inside a computer. So how to teach children about money when nobody uses cash anymore? More » -
$156 million
Sugariest Cereals For Kids Get Pimped Hardest
A new Yale report finds that cereal companies spent $156 million per year marketing to children, and most of that money gets plowed into pushing the sugariest cereals, which they try to pretend are healthy.
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here come the cops
This Chuck E. Cheese Restaurant Really Knows How To Party
Police had to respond to three separate incidents in one day this past Saturday at the Chuck E. Cheese in Susquehanna Township, Pennsylvania, according The Patriot-News. We hope the police got some free slices or skee-ball tickets on that last call. Well maybe just free skee-ball tickets. More » -
babies
Disney Offers Baby Einstein Refunds After Alleged False Advertising
If you've purchased Baby Einstein products, your tot is probably somehow—inexplicably—still not a genius. But you may be eligible for a refund of the purchase price, due to overzealous claims made about the products. More » -
minds of mush
Kids Design Cute Heinz Ketchup Packets, Learning Important Early Lessons In Mass-Market Commodification
Today my sandwich came with these Heinz ketchup packets with cute little designs on them, part of an insidious plot to sell more ketchup.
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outbreaks
Tiny Turtles Spread Joy, Salmonella
Turtles remain a popular pet with kids. In 1975 the U.S. banned the sale of ones smaller than 4 inches, but the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) estimates almost 2 million were being kept as pets as of 2006. They're also responsible for one of the slowest outbreaks of salmonella we've seen in recent years. More » -
retail
Walt Disney Planning On Turning Stores Into Shopping Theme Parks
Starting the middle of next year, Walt Disney will be rolling out a new version of its mall store format that is intended to suck in your child like a fairy princess crack pipe. "The goal is to make children clamor to visit the stores and stay longer," writes Brooks Barnes in the New York Times, by using things like embedded chips in the packaging to trigger responses from the store's furnishings, a rotating library of scents that fill the store, and karaoke. More » -
games
Prove You're Financially Literate And Win At Online Soccer!
We're not sure what "soccer" is—it looks like it might be some sort of real-world Quidditch without the brooms—but Visa and a bunch of soccer players have released a fancy-schmancy (for a website, at least) online version that tests your financial literacy. You can try it out at financialsoccer.com instead of working this morning. More » -
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nine-tenths of the law
Officials Take Baseball Away From Little Girl Who Sues And Gets It Back
Back in July near Miami, 12-year-old Jennifer came away with Phillies player Ryan Howard's 200th home run ball. Florida Marlins officials asked her to give up the milestone ball so Howard could autograph it. More » -
fines
Target Must Pay $600,000 To Settle Lead Paint Charges
Looks like the CPSC can afford donuts tomorrow for their office: Target has agreed to pay $600,000 for selling toys with too much lead on them from May 2006 to August 2007, reports Reuters. The fine "resolves allegations" over the issue, so now Target can focus on what it does best, which is act crazy. More » -
allowance
How To Decide What To Pay Your Kids
If you're a parent, you're a CEO of a small business who bosses around an underage household workforce. But how to handle payroll? More » -
legislation
New Bill Proposes Study of Junk-Food Marketing in Schools
New legislation proposed in Congress today would require the U.S. Department of Education to study the nutritional value of foods available in schools, as well as the forms of food marketing. Sponsored by Representatives Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and Todd Platt (R-PA), the National School Food Marketing Assessment Act has a large roster of supporters, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, National Parent Teacher Association, American Heart Association, and the Center for Science in the Public Interest. More » -
funny
7 Toys You Probably Shouldn't Buy
Look, we're not going to sit here and pretend to know a lot about parenting. But unless Ambras syndrome runs in your family, we can't imagine why you need to teach your 7-year-old how to shave a baby. The toy tattoo gun actually looks like a lot of fun, though.
"The 7 Most Inappropriate Products For Children" [Huffington Post] (Thanks to Daizy!)
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dunkin' donuts
Parents Sue Dunkin' Donuts After Rogue Hash Brown Burns Toddler
Continuing this weekend's unintentional theme of "toddlers and food service," today we bring you the sad tale of a Quincy, Mass. 23-month-old whose parents are suing Dunkin' Donuts after he was burned by a hash brown. A hash brown that fell out of his mouth and onto his neck. More » -
merchandising
Walmart's "Junk Food In The Toy Aisle" Mystery Officially Solved
Yesterday we posted a photo a reader sent in of a toy aisle in his local Walmart that was packed with junk food. We all got commenty on what exactly Walmart was doing—was it a one-off paid promo by Pepsi? A marketing experiment? A power-mad store manager driven crazy by shelving issues? Nah, it's actually an intentional choice mandated by corporate. More » -
bisphenol-a
Water Bottles Marketed To BPA-Fearing Parents Contained BPA All Along
I may as well attach my Nalgene bottles to myself with steel cables, but it seems like everyone is switching over to metal bottles because of the public's new-found fear of plastic additive bisphenol-A (BPA.) One of the major manufacturers of aluminum bottles, Sigg, recently admitted that the plastic liners of their metal bottles kind of, um, contained BPA. Cue uproar. More » -
money
Minimizing the Cost of Raising Kids
The choice to have a child is usually not a financially-focused decision. And we're not so crass to suggest that it should be a dominant factor. But the cost of raising a child properly should at least be one of the factors that couples consider before they take the plunge into parenthood. Why? Because raising kids is a very expensive undertaking. More » -
how to
Make Your Own Sports Drink
Why waste money on Gatorade when you can brew an equally effective sports drink from sugar, lemon juice, salt and orange juice? Hit the jump for the simple, inexpensive recipe. More »
kids
New York, 3:32 AM
Wed Nov 11
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