What with all the flashing screens, dinging bells, and glazed-over customers absorbed in the games at hand, a Chuck E. Cheese arcade bears quite a resemblance to the slot machine section of a casino. Are kids, in fact, gambling in between their pizza and soda?
family
Don’t Disappoint Mom: How to Ensure a Better-Than-Average Mother’s Day Gift
Finding the perfect Mother’s Day gift can be a difficult, if not impossible, task. At least it’s fairly simple to figure out how treat your mother better than the average son or daughter this Sunday.
New Game for Baseball Fans: Go to the Ballpark Without Spending a Dime
Watch any Major League Baseball game on TV. More often than not, when a view of the “crowd” pops onto the screen, you’ll see more empty seats than people. And the fans who did actually show up may be spending little or nothing to …
Can You Afford to Start Parenting at Middle Age?
Advances in reproductive technology and a trend towards marriage later in life have led to an increase in older parents. But do these old fogies know what they’re getting themselves into, financially speaking?
Financial Independence? Today’s Young People Don’t Expect It Anytime Soon
In a mere two years, the proportion of teenagers who expect to be financially dependent on their parents until their mid-20s has doubled. That gives us all another reason to feel sympathy for parents who have teenagers right now.
Fenway Park Drops Beer and Food Prices … And Red Sox Fans Get Angry?
Cheaper beer prices? Free food for kids? How insulting!
Post-Lockout NHL: Higher Ticket Prices, Better Attendance
Maybe the NHL should shoot for a lockout-shortened hockey season every year?
Tempting the Young: New Efforts to Get Younger Consumers Hooked on Guns, Luxe Cars, Soda and More
Youths are also sought after as customers because consumption habits are often ingrained at a young age—and because they will be money-spending consumers for many, many years to come.
Meet the New Family-Friendly ‘People Movers’ (Don’t Call Them Minivans!)
The latest vehicles that are being pumped up as ideal for families include hybrid gas sippers, tiny SUVs, redesigned work vans, and even pickup trucks. You’ll often see them described as “people movers” and “family haulers.” What they won’t be called—not officially anyway—are “minivans.”
Guys and Dollars: How Groceries, Barbies, Fashion and More Are Being Marketed to Men
Word has gotten out that men do more of the household shopping nowadays. Accordingly, we’re being asked to shop in “man aisles” in supermarkets, and we’re even being subjected to an awful new made-up term: “mansumer.”
Parent Holiday Conundrum: How to Walk the Fine Line Between Treating and Spoiling Your Kids
Is it remotely possible to be Santa and a responsible parent at the same time?
Worst. Gift. Ever. The 6 Kinds of Presents You Should Never Give
A gift should make the recipient happy — or at least not sad or angry. As the gift-giving season is upon us, it’s a good time to remember that gifts are a powerful form of communication. So what messages are being sent by the holiday gifts you’ve picked out for people?
