Many smartphone or tablet owners have done it, whether we have kids of our own or not: handed our devices over to a youngster that we’re tasked with entertaining. Now Android users can lock kids and other guests out of accessing their real wallets with in-game currency purchases. [More]
kids
Teen Suspended For Admitting To Teacher He Accidentally Brought Beer To School
By 2.26.14
It’s one thing for a high school to suspend a student if he’s caught drinking on campus. But a teen in Texas says he was suspended for three days and then forced to attend an “alternative” school for 60 days after he took the proactive step of telling his teacher he’d accidentally packed a beer with his lunch. [More]
How To Not Suck… At Teaching Your Kids About Money
By 2.19.14
Even if you have one of those fabled money trees (a distant cousin of a ticket oak) in your yard, there’s going to come a time that you need to teach your children the birds and bees about money. [More]
When Schools Take Snow Days, Who Gets Hurt? Milk Companies
By 2.13.14
There are effects of snow days that are obvious, like parents scrambling for childcare and the need to make up days later in the year. One effect that isn’t so obvious is the effect that schools shutting down might have on dairy companies. Yes, those little milk cartons add up. [More]
Graco Recalls 3.7 Million Child Safety Seats, Will Replace Buckles On 1.8 Million More
By 2.11.14
Millions of Graco child safety seats may have a serious problem: their buckles may not release if there happens to be any food or drink buildup in the latch. If you’ve ever met a small child or remember being one, you know that this could be an issue. [More]
Sure, We Need A Smartphone-Enhanced Piggy Bank
By 2.6.14
Smartphones have changed modern life, from our inability to disconnect from our jobs to making commutes more fun to making it possible to order items online from inside a store. There are some applications of smart technology, though, that are just plain stupid. Like the Porkfolio, an Internet-enabled piggy bank. [More]
Apple To Refund At Least $32.5 Million For In-App Purchases By Kids
By 1.15.14
Though Apple has already settled a class-action lawsuit over all those in-app purchases unwittingly made by free-fingered kids on their parents’ and other adults’ iPhones and iPads, that deal didn’t mean the folks at the Federal Trade Commission were going to stop looking into the situation. Today, the FTC announced that it has reached a deal with the electronics giant to issue at least another $32.5 million in refunds to consumers. [More]
Death Of Siblings Is Tragic Reminder To Check Trunks & Chests For Potential Traps
By 1.13.14
As much as an old trunk or hope chest can look nice in your living room, it can also be a potential hazard for children if there is no way to open it from the inside. Yesterday, a young brother and sister in Massachusetts died at their home after becoming trapped inside a hope chest in their home. [More]
Valve on Kids’ Medicine Bottles Could Prevent Overdose Deaths, But Costs Money To Install So Never Mind
By 12.30.13
Acetaminophen, best known under the brand name Tylenol, is an incredibly common medication for children. While it’s safe at the recommended dose, it can be fatally harmful when taken in excess and the overdose threshold is surprisingly low. [More]
Look Out For Counterfeit Rainbow Looms, Which Are A Thing
By 12.17.13
Rainbow Loom has reportedly sold 3.5 million rubber band weaving kits, but it’s not enough. There’s never enough of the hot toy of the year. That’s why we were surprised–but not all that surprised–to learn that there’s a brisk trade in counterfeit Rainbow Looms out there. [More]
The Internet Was Invented To Reunite Children With Lost Stuffed Animals
By 12.16.13
The invention of the Internet has created some jobs, rendered others obsolete, and changed all of our lives. It has also made things possible that we couldn’t imagine before an interconnected world. Like the little girl who lost her stuffed lion, but found him again…thanks to Twitter. [More]
Ad-Filled Monopoly Game, Deluxe Virtual Tooth Fairy, Potty With iPad Stand Top List Of Year’s Worst Toys
By 11.21.13
Do your kids feel that board games are ho-hum without advertising from some of the world’s biggest brands? Maybe your girls and boys are bored with the virtual tooth fairy they already have (yes, this exists) and the only way to make them happy is to pay more to unlock a VIP edition? Or does your potty-training youngster cry because he or she has to take their eyes away from the iPad for a few seconds while they do their digestive duty? Then we have some toys for you! [More]
Open Your Own Sprinkles Cupcakes Shop In Your Kid’s Playroom
By 11.21.13
Sprinkles claims to be the world’s first cupcake bakery, and it certainly was ahead of the trend, opening up in 2005 in Beverly Hills. Since then, they’ve been at the forefront of cupcake-deployment technology, launching the concepts of “cupcake truck” and “cupcake ATM.” Now, they’re extending their brand to children with a tiny toy version of their shops. [More]
Procter & Gamble Was Testing Opaque Detergent Pod Jars Before U.S. Launch
By 11.20.13
Since detergent pods hit the market back in 2012, authorities (and Consumerist) have been warning consumers to keep the products far, far away from children who might mistake them for candy. Procter & Gamble reports that incidents of young children poisoned by Tide’s detergent pods are way down. Public awareness probably helped, but putting them in jars that make them look less like candy has helped a lot more. [More]
Report: Nation’s Top Hospitals Not Pushing Baby Formula On New Moms
By 10.29.13
From diapers to formula to clothing and other infant-care items, newborns are a huge source of revenue to numerous industries. That’s why some of these businesses put together new-mom goodie bags to be handed out at maternity wards, hoping to create loyal customers from the start. Some people are concerned that the practice of including free formula in these bags makes it too easy for a new mom to avoid nursing her child. And according to a new survey, many of the nation’s best hospitals are saying no to the goodie bags. [More]
What Should I Do With This Used Child Car Seat?
By 10.21.13
The good news is that advancements in child safety seat technology mean that the products we depend on to protect our tiniest citizens from injury in a car crash are getting safer all the time. The bad news is that these advancements, and close monitoring of child safety products, mean that car seats are getting outmoded or recalled for safety reasons all the time. Where do old seats that can’t be reused end up? The trash, of course. [More]
This iPad Child Potty Represents Everything Wrong With America
By 10.10.13
Some kids may need coaxing to get on the potty, but we’re pretty sure that there is never any justification for any kind of system that combines tablet computing and pooping. What adults do once they’re fully potty-trained is their own business, but there’s something terribly wrong about combining screen time and potty time. [More]
McDonald’s To Fill Happy Meals With What Kids Really Want: Books About Healthy Eating
By 10.9.13
I have two young nieces, and every year for Christmas they plead, “Dear Uncle Chrisso (yes, they call me that; shut up), don’t buy us toys or clothing! We crave illustrated books about the virtues of eating healthy!!” Well, McDonald’s has just made my holiday shopping a lot easier, as it plans to pack those kinds of books into future Happy Meal offerings. [More]
