Walmart might have had some decent toy prices on Black Friday, but a new report says that not only did those low prices not last — many of them went up. [More]
Report: Walmart Jacks Up Toy Prices Just In Time For The Holidays
By December 15, 2010
FBI Warns Video Camera Barbie Could Be Used For Kiddie Porn
By December 8, 2010
The FBI is downplaying a leaked internal memo that reminded field agents that “Barbie Video Girl”, which has a video camera embedded in her necklace, could be used by pervs to produce child pornography. [More]
VTech Tech Support: "Sometimes Our Product Works, Sometimes It Doesn't"
By November 18, 2010
Juan writes that his granddaughter has a cute little digital picture frame marketed to children. He tried to hook it up to his computer to load some pictures on it for her, and couldn’t get it to cooperate with his computer. Juan tried to connect the picture frame using both Windows 7 and Vista, both of which the product’s marketing materials claim are compatible operating systems. Only…not so much. “Sometimes the program works and sometimes it doesn’t,” an employee helpfully told Juan after asking if he has a Windows XP system lying around. [More]
Hilarious Toys You Won't Want Near Your Kids
By November 5, 2010
As you get ready to go Christmas shopping for the little ones, be thankful you won’t find toys like this in the aisles any longer. [More]
Santa's Elves Had Better Get Cracking On Retina Displays
By October 26, 2010
Parents looking in the aisles of the toy store where they sell hula hoops, baseball gloves and baby dolls will want to start looking elsewhere to buy Christmas presents for their ungrateful ankle-biters. In face, they may want to avoid the toy section altogether and head toward the electronics department. [More]
This Is A $300,000 Barbie Doll
By October 21, 2010
A Barbie doll dressed in a black cocktail dress, pink heels, and a sparkly pink necklace sold at auction at Christie’s yesterday for $302,500. Well, perhaps it’s not a Barbie doll so much as some plastic and fabric that happens to be attached to a custom-designed Cubist pink and white diamond necklace made by Australian jewelry designer Stefano Canturi. [More]
Toy Submarine Recalled After Doing Damage To Little Boys' Private Bits
By October 18, 2010
Munchkin Inc. and the Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled 34,000 of the pictured toy “Bathtub Subs” because they have been a little harsh on the most personal parts of some young lads. [More]
Should Hasbro Be Allowed To Own A Kids' TV Channel?
By October 6, 2010
New kid-centric cable channel The Hub hasn’t even debuted yet, but it’s already receiving a lot of criticism from parental and consumer watchdog groups, not because its programming is too violent or racy, but because it’s co-owned by toy and game giant Hasbro. [More]
If You Think Your Dog Will Destroy Kong's Nearly Indestructible Toys, Save Your Receipt
By October 1, 2010
Pet owners (and pets) prize Kong brand toys for their indestructible qualities and incredible funness. What happens when one of their toys fails? Mike tells Consumerist that if you want a replacement toy when yours breaks, you’d better hold on to the receipt. [More]
Fisher-Price Recalls Millions Of Toys, High Chairs, Trikes, Oh My!
By September 30, 2010
Apparently aiming to become the Toyota of the kiddie products industry, Fisher-Price has issued four different recalls today, covering dozens of products and millions of units. So if you have a young kid, you’ll probably want to at least scan the list. [More]
Have Silly Bandz Peaked?
By September 29, 2010
Now that adults are using them to flirt, it stands to reason that the shaped rubber band sensation Silly Bandz might be on the wane among its original core user group: actual children. [More]
Man Arrested For Spilling His Midichlorians On Star Wars Toy In Florida Walmart
By September 21, 2010
The Smoking Gun website has posted an affidavit describing a particularly skeevy toy aisle incident in a Florida Walmart. A man allegedly took a copy of the February Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue over to the toy aisle, then masturbated to it in front of the Star Wars toys. When he was done, according to a Walmart employee who witnessed the incident, he wiped his hand on a nearby toy; a police source who spoke with TSG says it was a Star Wars lightsaber. [More]
Parents Group Calls Happy Meal Version Of The Human Torch A "Horrifying Spectacle"
By August 10, 2010
I’m having trouble telling whether the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood is serious, or whether someone at the organization saw that Venture Brothers episode and got confused, so I’ll just describe what they’re doing and you can decide for yourselves. The group has launched a letter writing campaign to demand that McDonald’s stop giving out Marvel superhero toys, specifically The Thing and The Human Torch, because they’re too violent. [More]
Are You Ready For The Return Of Bratz Dolls?
By July 22, 2010
After a 2008 court ruling found that the creator of the Bratz line of dolls had stolen the idea from Mattel (or rather, from himself, when he was working for Mattel), all Bratz products were supposed to be destroyed, and Mattel had the right to take over the brand and do whatever it wanted with it. A judge put the mass annihilation on hold, and today an appeals court overturned the initial ruling, meaning your local toy store may soon be carrying the next generation of the once-popular dolls. [More]
Sorry, Girls: Your Toy Blocks Cost More, Have Fewer Pieces
By July 21, 2010
The first rule of toy marketing: if you want to sell something to girls, make it pink! And in the case of the Fisher-Price TRIO building blocks set on Amazon, make the girls’ product cost $8.50 more than the “standard” product, for no clear reason. Even though it contains fewer blocks. [More]
Start Your Child's Beer Pong Training Early
By July 16, 2010
Rounding out our trilogy of beer pong posts this week, here’s an exciting product that commenter Nic715 pointed out: Hasbro’s game Cuponk. Throw the ball into the cup, and lights go off and electronic noises sound. It’s a way to have some family fun and hone your kids’ skills long before they leave for college. [More]
Fisher Price Includes Batteries, But Not Ones That Work
By June 28, 2010
Dana is annoyed that the Fisher Price toy she bought for her baby promised her that batteries were included. They were in the box all right, but they were dead. In fact the manual Fisher Price enclosed with the toy suggests you immediately replace the included batteries with new ones. [More]
If You're Not Going To Buy These Toys From Target, Don't Even Touch Them
By June 17, 2010
Jason tells Consumerist that his local SuperTarget seems to have a new policy: don’t even look at the toys on display unless you’re going to buy them. Or maybe this is just the personal policy of a single cranky, elderly employee who scolded Jason’s children for browsing the toy aisle while their parents shopped. Whatever the case, after this incident Jason and his family aren’t keen to buy toys–or anything else–at Target anymore. [More]
