The CPSC has issued a consumer alert, urging you to stop using Simplicity Inc.’s “close-sleeper/bedside sleeper” bassinets after two infants died after being strangled by the product’s metal bars. The company is refusing to cooperate with the CPSC and will not recall the product.
children
Duracell's New Ad: 'Oh No Your Kid Just Got Stolen!'
By 8.21.08
MSNBC’s Ads of the Weird blog is a little creeped out by Duracell’s new kidnapping commercial, and so are we. Making people feel bad about something is advertising’s job, we get that, but trying to scare parents into thinking their kid will be stolen from the playground by the classic man-in-a-van is going a little overboard. (Watch the commercial below.)
6 Back To School Money Lessons For Little Consumerists In Training
By 8.15.08
Ah, children. We know you’re trying your best not to mess yours up, but teaching kids about money is hard. If it wasn’t, this credit card would not even exist. So what do you do?
Fisher-Price Walkie-Talkie Picks Up Trucker Talk; Now Tot Wants Pot And Strippers
By 8.8.08
A mom in West Virginia says her 3-year-old’s Diego walkie-talkie, which is supposed to have a range of 20 feet, picked up some blue talk from truckers who may have been 275 miles away. “They said we should go smoke some weed, and were talking about being in a strip bar, some really explicit things,” the mother told the Asssociated Press.
Which Restaurants Are Making Your Kids Fat?
By 8.6.08
Subway’s kids’ meals came out on top. Only a third of its Fresh Fit for Kids meals, which include a mini-sub, juice box, and one of several healthful side items (apple slices, raisins, or yogurt), exceed the 430-calorie threshold. Subway is the only chain that doesn’t offer soft drinks with kids’ meals.
So how do you improve the nutrition of your kid’s meal the next time you eat at a restaurant? A spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association gave the following advice:
“Don’t be too alarmed even when [studies] come out and seem hopeless,” said Dawn Jackson Blatner, an American Dietetic Ass>ociation spokeswoman. “With a few swaps and switches, people really can make healthier choices at these fast-food joints, especially when the decisions are made before going in.
Save On School Supplies With Sales Tax Holidays
By 8.3.08
School supplies in eight states are tax-free this weekend thanks to sales tax holidays. Hurry though, because the savings expire at the end of the day, unless you live in Washington D.C., where the savings last through August 10. The full list, inside…
It Shouldn't Take Three Years To Book A Carnival Cruise
By 7.26.08
Leslie and her husband haven’t been able to cruise with Carnival since Hurricane Katrina rained all over their original itinerary back in 2005. Carnival promised they would be able to cruise on a “space available” basis, except Carnival won’t confirm if space is available until three days before departure, making it nearly impossible for Leslie and her husband to buy affordable plane tickets or arrange care for their sixteen-month-old daughter.
JetBlue Can't Decide If They Charged An Unaccompanied Minor Fee
By 7.7.08
JetBlue promised Catie’s husband in March that the $798 fare charged to fly his children from Austin to Boston included the unaccompanied minor fee. But when Catie recently called to verify the reservation, she was told that her children wouldn’t be allowed to board unless she paid an extra $200.
Brooks Brothers Thanks Three-Week Old Infant For Requesting Their Catalogue. What?
By 7.6.08
Reader Jillian thought she was keeping an eye on her three-week-old son, Benjamin, but apparently, he managed to sneak away and sign up for a Brooks Brothers catalog. As Jillian explains, “either I have a very preppie prodigy on my hands, or his name is already on a mailing list.”
Neiman Marcus Sells Used Bugaboo Stroller As New
By 6.22.08
When Steven paid Neiman Marcus $682 for a Bugaboo stroller, he expected to receive a new model, not a used stroller with worn wheels and axles coated with hair.
This Coloring Book Helps Children And Grownups Understand HDTV
By 6.19.08
Reader Andy sent us this great coloring book he made that helps explain high definition television to children, parents, and luddites.
Should 8-Year Olds Wear Contacts?
By 6.11.08
The WSJ Health blog reports that Johnson & Johnson’s Vistakon division thinks the best way to increase sales is to decrease the age, from 15 to 8, as the time kids should start wearing contacts. A J&J sponsored study says it’s safe, and that kids can better enjoy sports and have improved self-esteem, but an ophthalmologist expressed concern that somewhere in between the frog-catching and BB guns (you’ll poke your eye out!) there’s a real risk of infection. What do you think?
By 5.30.08
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As if you needed a reason not to wear Crocs, here’s another story of a kid whose foot got caught in an escalator while wearing the damn things. The kid was fine, the escalator was repaired, the bottom of the Croc is chewed up, and “Crocs stands by its design.” [CBS5.com]
Advice On How To Raise Financially Savvy Kids
By 4.25.08
CNN asks some money experts for tips on how to teach kids about personal finance. Laura Levine, the executive director of Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, says she uses a special piggy bank for her 3-year-old son—it has four chambers, “one for saving, one for spending, one for donating and one for investing,” and helps teach him that money is not just for “one thing.”
KidsStuff.com Silently Charges $18 Subscription Fee To Grandparent Who Shopped There Two Years Ago
By 3.24.08
C writes in with another lesson on why you should check your statements frequently:Two years ago I purchased items for my grandchildren at KidsStuff.com. This month (March 2008) I found an $18.00 charge from them on my American Express card.
Insurance Company Won't Pay For Child's Leukemia Treatment
By 3.17.08
Primary Physician Care, a privately-owned insurance company based in Charlotte, North Carolina, has now twice refused to pay for a 3-year-old’s special leukemia treatment recommended by doctors at Duke University Hospital—even after the child’s mother called the insurance company and spoke…
Would You Take Your (Really Hot) Kid To The Abercrombie & Fitch Emergency Department And Trauma Center?
By 3.12.08
The once-popular—surely it isn’t still?—teenaged sexpot clothing store Abercrombie & Fitch is shelling out $10 million to build a new emergency room and trauma center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Now a group is speaking out against the idea of prominently naming the kids’ ER after the store, which the hospital has been hinting at in announcements. The reason the hospital is called “Nationwide Children’s Hospital” is because Nationwide Insurance gave it $50 million. Up next: the Budweiser End Zone Birthing Center, and then the American Apparel Teenaged Pregnancy Wing.
24,000 Cribs Recalled For Faulty Railing
By 2.29.08
The CPSC has announced the recall of 24,000 cribs for a faulty railing that puts children at risk of falling out.
