A Hawaii couple was tossed in jail and their child taken by protective services for 18 hours after the mother forgot to pay for her sandwich at Safeway. [More]
parenting
Girl Scouts Add New "Good Credit" And "Finance" Badges
By 10.20.11
The Girl Scouts just finished their first redesign of their badges in 25 years, adding several new ones that will appeal to Consumerist readers. [More]
3 Tips For Fighting Bullies
By 10.19.11
People are talking more about bullying these days. It can happen at school, in the workplace, or online. How do you combat it? Educator and author Natasha Deen offers these three tips. [More]
Docs Again Warn Against TV For Kids Under 2
By 10.19.11
Letting kids under two watch TV doesn’t provide them with any educational benefit and can cut down on the interaction with others and play time that is key to their growth, the American Academy of Pediatrics warns in a new report. [More]
Milk Storage Bag Company Does Right After Mom Finds Defect
By 9.9.11
After Jessica discovered holes in the plastic milk storage bags in which she kept her breastmilk, she emailed the manufacturer, Lansinoh, about the defect. Jessica got back a heartfelt apology. On top of that, they also sent her several times the amount of replacement bags than she would have ever expected to make up for the defective bags. This makes Lansinoh the newest entrant in our “Above and Beyond” hall of fame. [More]
Daycare Owner Doped Kids To Make Them Go To Sleep
By 9.9.11
A daycare owner in Texas was arrested by police for mixing antihistamines into the kids’ milk to make them fall asleep. [More]
Outback Steakhouse Gives 4-Year Old Free Vodka Slushie
By 9.8.11
Another chain casual dining establishment is in trouble for accidentally serving alcohol to a child. This time the place is Outback Steakhouse and the child is a 4-year old girl. If the event had been memorialized with a scrapbook photo, the caption would read, “Gracie’s first peach schnapps and vodka.” [More]
Skin Experts: Sunburns During Childhood Double Risk Of Skin Cancer
By 7.1.11
In case you needed any more reason to protect your kids from the sun, skin care experts say sunburns in childhood and adolescence double victims’ chances of suffering skin cancer later in life. [More]
9 Out Of 10 Parents Installing Car Seats Are Doing It Wrong
By 6.7.11
According to the New York City Department of Transportation, 9 out of 10 parents install their child’s car seat incorrectly. This could lead to your child getting hurt or killed in the event of an accident. Why risk it? Find an expert who can inspect your car seat and make sure you’ve put it in correctly. NHTSA has an online searchable database to find a certified technician near you. [More]
How Booze Keeps Getting Served In Sippy Cups To Kids At Restaurants
By 5.23.11
We’ve had a few stories about toddlers accidentally getting served alcohol inside sippy cups by the waiters at big-name chain restaurants and wondered, how in the heck did that happen? According to what some restaurant insiders say, there’s a very simple and sad explanation. [More]
How To Pick A Preschool: Hang Out In It For A Few Hours
By 5.23.11
Just because it says “Montessori” on the front door doesn’t mean it’s a good preschool. Over at the Science-Based Parenting blog they learned that the hard way after putting their kid in a place that called itself a Montessori school and he was miserable. It was only after going there and watching for a few hours that they saw diapers weren’t changed frequently, there was a layer of grime on everything, and the teachers spoke to the children in admonishments. So now they’ve learned their lesson: [More]
How Much Should Parents Help Adult Children?
By 4.24.11
No matter how old their children get, some parents feel responsible for doing everything they can to help them succeed. This can lead to parents treating their grown kids as though they are teenagers, and it’s tough to discern whether they’re helping or holding their children back. [More]
Why Is Abercrombie Selling Push-Up Bikinis To 7-Year Old Girls?
By 3.25.11
The Sociological Images blog has sparked an online furor over Abercrombie Kids, which markets its products to children ages 7-14, selling a line of push-up bikinis. Is this an age-appropriately targeted product, harmless dress up, or just the latest in the race to capitalize on the gross and premature sexualization of our youth? [More]
Mom Sues Preschool For Failing To Prep Tot For Harvard
By 3.16.11
A Manhattan mother has filed a class action suit against her 4-year-old daughter’s $19,000 a year Upper East Side preschool for not properly preparing her child for a top-tier university. [More]
Get Breaking Texts About Product Recalls That Impact Kid's Lives
By 3.11.11
You could have recalled products in your home or school that put children’s lives at risk. But by texting “SAFE” to 76666, Consumer Reports will text you a daily digest of the latest breaking and relevant product recalls right to your mobile device. With it, you’ll never be the last one at the punch bowl to know about the latest salmonella-tainted peanut butter or strangulation hazard sweatshirt drawstring. The service has no charge, but message and data rates from your wireless provider may apply. [More]
1.7 Million Summer Infant Baby Monitors Recalled After 2 Babies Die
By 2.14.11
1.7 million Summer Infant video baby monitors were recalled after two babies died after they wrapped their necks in the electrical cords of the the devices that were placed too close to their crib. “I urge all parents and caregivers to put at least 3 feet between any video or audio baby monitor cords and a child in a crib,” Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman Inez Tenenbaum said in a statement. “This simple step can save your child’s life.” [More]
"Shocked" That It's Not Healthy, Mother Sues Nutella
By 2.7.11
A mother of a four-year old child has filed a class action lawsuit against delicious hazelnut spread Nutella. In her complaint, the mother says she was as “shocked to learn” from her friends “that Nutella was in fact not a ‘healthy,’ ‘nutritious’ food,” as advertised, “but was instead the next best thing to a candy bar.” [More]
Mom Jailed For Falsifying Address To Send Kids To Better School District
By 1.27.11
An Ohio mom has been convicted and sent to jail for lying about her address so she could send her daughters to a better neighboring school district. School officials said she was cheating the system by having her daughters receive an education she hadn’t paid the taxes for. “Those dollars need to stay home with our students,” said school officials. To snare her, the school hired a private investigator, who videotaped her driving the children into the district. [More]
