Here’s a consumer quandary for the ages, where both sides have compelling arguments. Robert was shopping at JCPenney with his daughter, who is a preteen and intellectually disabled. The problem is that store policy dictates that there are no men allowed in the women’s fitting rooms for privacy reasons and, as an employee explained, to keep out “sex offenders.” [More]
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Get My Daughter A Full-Time Job And I’ll Give You 500 Bucks
By 3.5.13
Sorry, that’s not a direct offer from Consumerist: we don’t have daughters, or $500. A 36-year-old Southern California woman who has spent the last decade and a half as her mother’s caregiver after a car crash is looking for a job now that her mother is well enough to live alone. Her mother has put up a $500 reward to anyone who is able to get her a job. [More]
Parents Of Twin Tots Appease Fellow Travelers By Handing Out Bags Of Candy, Ear Plugs
By 9.4.12
There is nothing like the experience of being stuck thousands of feet in the air in a tiny metal tube with screaming newborns. Knowing this, it appears that the parents of one set of twin babies wanted to get in the good graces of their fellow travelers by handing out bags of candy — and offering free earplugs to — the people around them. [More]
We Cosigned Our Unemployed Son's Student Loans. Now We're Screwed
By 8.24.12
If you retain one piece of information from reading this site, let it be this one: never co-sign anyone’s student loans. Not your spouse’s student loans. Not your best friend’s student loans. Not your nephew’s student loans. Not even your own child’s student loans. It is the worst possible kind of debt to assume on behalf of someone else. The balances can be huge, the debt can’t be discharged in bankruptcy, and there’s nothing to repossess. That’s what anonymous parents M and D have learned, the very hard way. [More]
I Didn't Buy A Ticket To An R-Rated Movie So I Could Entertain Your Toddler
By 8.13.12
Baby-sitters must be hard to come by these days. That’s the only possible explanation for why Kelly found herself entertaining the small child next to her during a showing of the R-rated movie “Ted.” The encounter raised all kinds of questions. For example: why was this child sitting in a stroller that was positioned to block Kelly’s seat? Why didn’t Regal Cinemas staff do anything about the stroller? Why didn’t the child’s mother notice or care that the kid was yapping to Kelly? Then, of course, there’s the key question on which this entire problem hinges: why bring a toddler with you to an R-rated movie? [More]
What You Need To Know About Claiming Older Dependents On Taxes
By 3.28.12
If you look out financially for an older loved one, the government gives you a reward for your kindness come tax time. Those looking to claim people who aren’t their children as dependents when they file their taxes should go over the rules to make sure they qualify. [More]
Huggies: Diapers So Good, Even Dads Can't Use Them Wrong?
By 3.8.12
For about one-third of babies and young children, their primary caregiver is their father. And most dads today pitch in with child care and have some working knowledge of how a diaper works. So it’s not hard to see why some parents are annoyed at the new “Dad Test” campaign for Huggies diapers. The concept: leaving babies alone with their dads for five days is somehow the “ultimate test” of the quality of diapers and wipes. [More]
Don't Let Your Parents Fall For Refinancing Scams
By 12.21.11
Your parents may assume they have more financial knowledge than you due to their extensive experience, but you shouldn’t assume the same. New scams pop up all the time to exploit needs and trick people looking for quick fixes. If you can’t protect your parents from these types of financial traps, there’s probably no one who can. [More]
AT&T Dealer Makes Error That No One Has The Power To Fix, Ever
By 12.15.11
When Zach bought iPhones for his parents and added them to his AT&T plan, someone made a mistake. One of the new phones became the primary line on the account, Zach’s phone became one of the secondary lines, and this messed up his ability to upgrade to a shiny new iPhone of his own so he could FaceTime video conference just like his super-cool parents. Only that’s not how things work at AT&T Wireless. Zach was told that no one in the entire company has the power to fix this error. Not the customer service reps. Not the managers. Not the CEO. Not even the combined forces of Seal Team Six and the ghost of Steve Jobs could undo this error committed by a single authorized AT&T dealer employee somewhere in the Western United States. [More]
Are You Responsible For Bailing Out Your Financially Irresponsible Parents?
By 11.18.11
We often hear stories about beleaguered parents who continually dip into their bank accounts to keep their fiscally foolish offspring from ending up on Skid Row. But what about when the shoe is on the younger generation’s foot? [More]
Man Uses 3D Printer To Make Repair Part For $25, Instead Of Paying $250
By 8.4.11
A man had a part break on his Bugaboo, a really nice and pricey stroller. The official repair center said it would cost $250 to replace the part. So the man said, forget that, and used a 3D printing service, which creates three-dimensional objects by laying down successive layers of material, to get it fabricated in stainless steel for $25 instead. Schweet! [More]
Parent Wages Internet Campaign Against Disgusting McDonald's Play Area
By 6.9.11
If you noticed that the play area at your local fast-food restaurant was unacceptably filthy, what would you do? Sure, you might keep your children off the equipment and stop visiting that restaurant, and tell your friends and neighbors to do the same. But when one Arizona mom repeatedly complained about the conditions at her local McDonald’s and still nothing changed, she went further. She paid for testing by an independent lab to see exactly what was crawling around in that playground. She also climbed through the playland tubes herself, filming the graffiti, discarded food, and filth her children had been romping around in. [More]
Car Seats Fly Free, So Pack Other Stuff In There To Avoid Bag Fees
By 4.25.11
It’s sort of sneaky, but you can take advantage of the fact that a few items, like strollers, car seats and some medical items, never get a fee for getting checked in order to avoid checked bag fees on your other stuff, writes the Money Crashers blog. [More]
Parents Want To Push Kid With Peanut Allergy Out Of School
By 3.25.11
Objecting to what they deem to be cumbersome accommodations for a student with a severe peanut allergy, parents at a Florida public school are urging administrators to remove the girl from the classroom and have her home-schooled. [More]
How To Thrive As A Stay-At-Home Parent
By 3.3.11
Exiting the workforce to become a stay-at-home parent is not a decision to be taken lightly. You give up all your pay – although that’s mitigated by what you save on day care – and embark on a 168-hour-a-week gig with a tiny, tyrannical boss who is impossible to please. [More]
School Tracks Truant Students With GPS Devices
By 2.18.11
To combat seventh and eighth graders who constantly skip class, a school in California is equipping the worst offenders with GPS tracking units. If you have more than four unexcused absences, you’re assigned to carry a handheld GPs device. Five times a day you have enter in a code to verify your location. You also get an automated call in the morning reminding you to come to school and three times a week an adult assigned to you calls you to check in and discuss attendance strategies. The devices have increased attendance by truants to 95% up from 77%, but some parents feel it treats their kids “like common criminals.” Do you think this program is a good idea? Take our poll and sound off in the comments. [More]
8-Year-Old Girl Racks Up $1,400 Bill Playing "Smurfs Village" iPad Game
By 2.9.11
A 2nd-grader managed to rack up a $1,400 bill for her parents over break while playing the “Smurfs Village”, a Farmville-esque iPad game, reports the Washington Post. Like many of these app-based games, the game is free but you can purchase in-app upgrades, with real money, to speed your progress. In this case, you can get a “bucket of snowflakes” for $19 or a “wagon of smurfberries” for $99. Needless to say, her mother became quite blue in the face. [More]
Would You Pay Extra For An Adult-Only Flight?
By 2.7.11
In a recent survey of business class travelers, when asked what annoys them about first-class travel, 74% of them said “children.” The respondents are clamoring for airlines to start offering children-free or 18+ only flights. So here’s the question: would you pay extra for a seat on a kid-free flight? Take our poll and sound off! [More]
