Rather than packing their kids onto a crowded bus in the morning or having to take time out of their morning schedule to get those students to school (or just making them walk, which is what legs were invented for), some parents are looking to ridesharing service Uber to ferry their youngsters around — even though it’s against the company’s own rules. [More]
kids
Burger King Quietly Dropped Soda From Kids Meals
By 3.10.15
When Wendy’s decided it January to remove soft drinks from its kids meals, it meant that Burger King was the only one of the big three burger chains to still include soda with their youth-targeted menu. But in the last month, BK has quietly pulled the sugary beverages from its kids meals and menu boards. [More]
It’s Very Gross And Very Dangerous When Dogs Eat Diapers
By 2.25.15 — Updated: 5.2.17
The very thing that makes disposable diapers so useful–their super-absorbency–can make them deadly to pets. While nobody goes around giving diapers to their dog as a chew toy, animals do have a gift for rifling through the trash, and one thing they can find there are diapers. KKTV in Colorado interviewed one family whose dog died after eating some of the absorbent material in a diaper. [More]
Handing Prescription Bottles Full Of M&Ms To Kids Is A Very Bad Idea
By 2.17.15
It was one thing when a company selling products for babies handed out fake prescription bottles full of candy to bloggers who could, theoretically, bring them home to their children. Teaching kids that amber and white bottles contain candy is a terrible idea. Yet one college professor skipped the intermediary and handed out pill bottles filled with M&Ms directly to children, angering their parents and other community members. [More]
Mother Of Autistic Boy Claims IKEA Discriminated Against Her Son
By 2.13.15
IKEA has three prongs to its stores’ playroom policy — a height restriction, a potty-training requirement, and no adults. A Kansas mom says this last rule is discriminatory to her son and other children with autism who require the presence of an adult caregiver. [More]
1-Year-Old Suffocates During Home Remedy For Lice
By 2.5.15
Though its effectiveness is debatable, using mayonnaise to get rid of head lice is a well-known home remedy. But one family’s attempt to rid their child of the tiny insects has apparently resulted in a tragic death by suffocation. [More]
3-Year-Old Slips, Falls Into Grease Pit Outside Denny’s
By 1.29.15
Outside of a Denny’s restaurant in Wisconsin, there are two plastic manhole covers that don’t look like they’re a portal to anything particularly dangerous. While walking by them last week, a 3-year-old boy accidentally dislodged an unsecured cover and fell inside the pit it covered. That was an 8-foot-deep and incredibly stinky grease pit. [More]
Smart Sleep Number Bed For Kids Banishes Monsters With App
By 1.8.15
Smart appliances and Internet-connected household items are here on the market and on their way into our homes whether we like it or not, but here’s one unexpected smart product: a smart bed for children that serves as its own night light and banishes under-the-bed monsters using a smartphone app. [More]
Family Wants United To Apologize For Treatment Of Special Needs Daughter
By 1.2.15
A family from New Jersey had previously flown with their daughter, who is a stroke survivor in addition to being quadriplegic. While FAA regulations require kids over 2 to have their own seats, their daughter is the size of a 1-year-old and unable to sit up on her own. This led to a dispute between the family and a flight attendant that kept their plane grounded for an hour. Now the family wants an apology. [More]
Santa Exists, Dropped $20K To Pay Off Toys ‘R’ Us Layaway Accounts
By 12.12.14
News stories about “layaway angels,” people who stop by a retailer’s layaway counter and pay off the balances of strangers, became very popular during the holiday season of 2011. They’ve since become a recurring tradition, and this year we have mostly heard about people spending five-figure amounts to pay off everyone’s balance in a show of generosity. [More]
Toddlers Try And Fail To Destroy A New iPad
By 12.10.14
When a new version of Apple’s iPad comes out, delighted media outlets answer all kinds of questions about its size and features. What most reviews will not cover is the important question that many families need answered as they decide which tablet to buy: can it withstand one of the greatest destructive forces known to humankind? [More]
Should Kid-Oriented Mobile Phone Games Serve Up Birth Control Ads?
By 12.2.14
Yes, many people love kittens, but the target customer for a kitten-themed cartoon mobile phone game is somewhat younger than the target customer for hormonal birth control devices. There are exceptions, and some overlap between the two categories, but those are generally different audiences. Why, then, did an ad pop up that led an 8-year-old girl to ask her mom some very understandable questions about NuvaRing? [More]
7-Year-Old Girl Questions ‘Fun Gifts For Boys’ Sign At Tesco
By 11.24.14
Tesco is a supermarket/superstore based in the United Kingdom. They sell just about everything, including toys. However, one member of the toy-buying public was not thrilled with their holiday marketing. A 7-year-old girl noticed a “Fun gifts for boys” sign on a photo of an alarm clock featuring Marvel superheroes. Wait a minute: she likes superheroes. Why is that only a gift for boys? [More]
Parents Say Joe’s Crab Shack Accidentally Served Alcoholic Drinks To Table Of Kids
By 11.7.14
It’s understandable that a seafood restaurant might want to employ marine life in the naming of its drinks, both virgin and alcoholic, but perhaps it’s time to reconsider having the kiddie and adult versions named after the same sea animal, after parents say a table of kids aged 8 and under were served a round of boozy beverages. [More]
What Should McDonald’s Do When Kids Aren’t Interested In Happy Meals?
By 9.9.14
McDonald’s has a problem: kids. For a few generations now, families have been a big part of the company’s business, and marketing to children an important part of their business strategy. Yet kids and families just aren’t streaming in the door like they used to, and it’s not because terrifying new mascot Happy has scared them off. No, it’s because eschewing fast food is now aspirational for middle-class consumers, and everyone else is broke. [More]
Creator Of “Your Baby Can Read” Program Settles False Advertising Charges
By 8.22.14
Almost exactly two years after the Federal Trade Commission accused the people behind the popular “Your Baby Can Read” training program of making deceptive advertising claims, the product’s creator has finally reached a deal to settle charges that he and his company made baseless pronouncements about the effectiveness of the program and that they misrepresented scientific studies to prove these bogus statements. [More]
Google’s Plan To Let Kids Have Accounts: Bad Idea Or Acknowledgement Of Reality?
By 8.19.14
A few years back, Facebook’s sweatshirt-in-chief Mark Zuckerberg caught a lot of heat when he said he’d be willing to fight for the right to peddle his social network to kids under the age of 13. He eventually backed off on this idea, but now Google appears to be taking up the cause. [More]
McDonald’s Employee Who Left Daughter At Park Suing TV Station For Revealing Personal Details
By 8.15.14
When someone is arrested, it’s not uncommon for local media reports to say something like “Bob Smith, of the 1900 block of Main St., was charged with…” but you don’t usually get that person’s full home address and Social Security number. Yet that’s what happened when a TV station in South Carolina posted the full, unedited police interview with a McDonald’s employee who’d been arrested for leaving her 9-year-old daughter at a park while she worked. [More]
