A family that purchased a separate seat for their 2-year-old son on a JetBlue flight say they were just trying to comfort the youngster by having him sit on his mom’s lap during takeoff, but that the flight attendants treated them like a safety risk and had them kicked off the plane. [More]
families
California Pizza Kitchen Manager Starts Chain Of Kindness That Extends To Corporate
By 4.24.14
When a family with four kids stopped off to eat at California Pizza Kitchen, disaster was looming. Their 13-year-old son, who has autism, was upset and on the verge of a meltdown in the middle of a crowded restaurant on Valentine’s Day. As the mother dreaded what would happen next, the manager came to her rescue, treating the family as if nothing were out of the ordinary. [More]
5 Airports Where Being Stuck With Your Kids Might Not Be An Absolute Nightmare
By 5.2.13
While none of us at Consumerist have kids — that we’ll legally admit to — we’ve traveled with other people’s youngsters, and we’ve watched in jaw-dropped horror at the antics of some bored, confined children at airports. Thankfully, there are some airports that provide a place for traveling terrors to blow off steam without irritating grumpy grown-ups like me. [More]
United Ends Preboarding Policy For Families With Small Kids
By 5.25.12
While airlines love to put out press releases for even the smallest improvements in service, they tend to be pretty quiet when they do something that might tick off customers. Thus, many people are just learning now that back in April, United Airlines ended its policy of allowing families with small children to board flights early. [More]
If You're Having A Baby, Expect Sticker Shock
By 4.2.12
Those little bundles of joy parents spawn don’t come cheap. Babies begin shaking you down for money months before they even pop out, and many don’t quit even after they’ve graduated college. [More]
DirecTV Sees Your Father's Death As Sales Opportunity
By 8.22.11
Carl’s father had DirecTV service at the time that he passed away, and Carl called them up to cancel the account while settling the estate. The satellite provider chose to see his father’s death as a retention opportunity, using emotional appeals to try to get Carl to take over his father’s service at his own home. Carl was not pleased. [More]
Should There Be A Families-Only Section On Planes?
By 8.25.10
Who among us hasn’t been trapped on an airplane with a howling baby or a loudmouth 4-year-old who thinks the plane is his playground? So maybe it won’t come as a surprise to you that a new survey says most travelers would be just fine and/or dandy with having a families-only section on flights. [More]
Douse Spirit Of Children By Taking Them Back-To-School Shopping
By 7.27.10
As July winds down the retail industrial complex is luring parents into stores with promises of discounts on clothes and supplies to commemorate state-sponsored daycare. Regular Morning Deals contributor Dealio is on top of things, putting together a massive list of back-to-school sales, the annual high season for the protractor industry. [More]
In The Military? Museum Admission Is Free This Summer
By 5.25.10
Starting Memorial Day, May 31, and lasting until Labor Day, September 6, more than 600 museums around the country are waiving admission fees for active members of the military and members of their immediate family. The Blue Star Museum program is a joint effort that’s being launched by the National Endowment for the Arts and a nonprofit group called Blue Star Families. The NEA has a map showing which museums are participating around the country. [More]
Things You Don't Need To Buy For A New Baby
By 5.5.10
Cameron Huddleston, an editor at Kiplinger and a mom, has some advice on how to make the most of your new baby budget. The money you save on things like play mats, changing tables, and fancy first-year clothes can be used to pay for less pleasant but more important safety-net things, like life and disability insurance, health insurance, and a will. [More]
US Airways Uninterested In Seating Small Children With Parents
By 2.18.10
You probably don’t want to be sandwiched between a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old on an airplane. Know who does, though? Their mother. Unfortunately, one parent, blogger Sierra Black, writes that US Airways is not terribly concerned with making sure that parents and children get to sit together. On a seven-hour flight. The airline placed Black and her two children in the center seats of three different rows in different parts of the plane, but no airline staff seemed to understand why she thought that this was a problem. [More]
4 Money Conversations You Should Have Before You Commit
By 10.24.09
Before you tie your destiny and your credit rating to the person you love, there are some decidedly un-romantic conversations that you need to have in order to prevent discord and catastrophe later in life.
Walmart's "Junk Food In The Toy Aisle" Mystery Officially Solved
By 9.10.09
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.
Moms Don't Want Stuff This Mother's Day
By 5.6.09
An entirely unscientific ABC News poll of mothers shows that they would prefer some nice time with with their families to tangible gifts. I thought this was always the case, but apparently it’s an indicator of the recession or something.
Daylight Savings Can Save You Money
By 3.7.09
Congress will sneak into your bedroom tonight and steal a precious hour of sleep, but you don’t need to take the theft lying down. Get up tomorrow and use a few tips from Consumer Reports to steal back some hard-earned cash.
Sprint Helps You Deal With Your Deadbeat Brother
By 2.11.09
Reader B. probably shouldn’t have used her credit to help her less-than-creditworthy brother get a cellphone, but this story has a happy ending thanks to some helpful customer service from Sprint.
Family Tries To Pull Off $7 Million Black Friday Heist
By 12.4.07
A young man, his girlfriend, and his mother were arrested on Saturday for stealing $7.4 million from an armored car company last Monday in Cleveland, Ohio. They timed the robbery to occur after Black Friday and the ensuing weekend because they knew the company would be chock full of retailers’ profits. Then they loaded a newly bought getaway van with the cash and hid away in Pipestem, West Virginia. The FBI tracked them down using old shopping receipts found in the girlfriend’s abandoned pickup truck.
50 Great Places To Raise A Family
By 11.27.07
You know how these personal finance posts we’re always publishing tell you to find a place where you can actually afford to live? But how people respond that it’s not that easy to find affordable, decent towns? Well, here you go: 50 not-too-shabby places around the country, presented in a clicky slide show and illustrated with satellite images for that Google Maps/Homeland Security look that feels so now.
