Grandma too young for Toys R Us discount

by Bethany Sanders (Subscribe to Bethany Sanders's posts)
Sep 14th 2008 3:00PM

Filed under: In The News, Weird But True

When it comes to being a grandparent, is there an age limit? According to Toys R Us there is -- it's 50 years old. When the toy giant put out a new coupon that gave grandparents the right to spoil their grandkids at the store -- to the tune of 20% off -- they also included a disclaimer in the fine print: Grandparents must be at least 50 years old.

Linda Peters of Phoenix, however, is only 49. When she took her coupon to the store to buy a treat for her little grandson, she was told that she didn't qualify and wouldn't receive the discount. Though the coupon read "We love grandparents," Linda definitely wasn't feeling the love.

Toys R Us is standing by their decision. They told the press that any new promotion needs limits and putting an age requirement on theirs was appopriate. They're even going to extend an olive branch to Linda by giving her the discount after all. But I'm wondering, what do you think? Can grandparent-hood be defined by a number? Should it be? Or is Toys R Us being discriminatory?

Should Toys R Us have put an age on their coupon?
Yes. They have a right to limit their promotions.	5830 (29.5%)
No. It discriminates against younger grandparents.	13539 (68.6%)
Other -- share with us in comments.	363 (1.8%)

ReaderComments (Page 5 of 18)

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9-14-2008 @ 4:53PM

Ann said...

Maybe people should stop having kids at 13 and stop letting their kids get knocked up at 12, then grandparents wouldn't be so young these days and you could use you're stupid coupon!!

9-14-2008 @ 9:34PM

gloria said...

I could not have said it better!

9-15-2008 @ 5:24AM

See! There are smart people left in the world :)

9-15-2008 @ 3:01PM

dee said...

Well, it seems that you're lacking in BOTH math and grammar skills . . .

It was extremely typical in my mother's generation to have the first child between 20-25. I know many women in my generation who had their first children between 21-25. The only way you're reaching 50 with that combination is when the grandmother-to-be had her first child at the "later than average" age of 25, AND the current-generation mother is 25.

The late 40s would be a fairly average/expected time to become a grandparent.

9-16-2008 @ 3:58AM

Well, it seems you're an idiot and probably have never heard of a "typo". Go to sleep grandma! It's past you're bed time. Don't forget to rub on some bengay!!!

9-14-2008 @ 4:47PM

GrandmaWen said...

How ridiculous! I was a grandmother at 39. I am now 52 and my granddaughter is 13. I am extremely young looking, most people think I am about 40. I understand limits, but exactly how does one prove that they are a grandparent at any age. Are you required to show your driver's license and bring your grandchild with you? Do they need a DNA test to prove that the grandchild you bring with you is actually yours? Very poor thinking on their part. I know many people in their 40's who have grandchildren. Whoever created this promotion needs to get their head out of the sand..and wherever else it might be!

9-14-2008 @ 4:48PM

JJB said...

Oh give me a break already. The idea was to allow older grandparents, who are more likely to be on a fixed income, to be able to buy some things for their grandchildren. It wasn't meant to reward those of you whose family tradition is to start popping out babies when you're 15. The coupon stated that grandparents had to be over 50, so suck it up already and quit being offended at every little thing.

9-14-2008 @ 4:54PM

Tee said...

What if someone of 50 years and better pursues a discount and do not have grandchildren? If a grandparent of any age older than 40 can present proof that they have grandchildren then they should be able to have the discount. After all it is about the children not someone's age and Toys R Us went to a place where no man should go (outer limits) with their stipulations on eligibility. I say to the grandparents everywhere, I know your dollars are a small majority of the toy companies profit, can you guess where I am going with this? Inquiring minds should know.

9-14-2008 @ 4:55PM

mary said...

Just for the record, I am 42 and a grandmother. As far as buying anything from Toys r Us, forget it. Even with a 20% discount, whatever you buy is most likely cheaper at Walmart, Target or even some online retailer with paying for shipping. So, why bother with the coupon anyway, all they are is an overpriced toy store with merchandise no better than Walmart.

9-14-2008 @ 4:57PM

ben said...

They certainly have the right to put an age limit on things like this. They have done nothing wrong. But it is tacky and gets them a lot of bad publicity. I hope the PR department has fun with this "We Love Grandparents and put all sorts of restrictions in fine print to discriminate agains younger grandparents and reserve the right to screw you over"!

9-14-2008 @ 5:00PM

KWTX said...

I agree with the age limit. Such a sad cycle to get started. The baby born to a teenager becomes pregnant as a young teenager. Sad to hear about 14-16 year old girls getting pregnant. Then they're 35 on here complaining that they're grandparents who can't get a discount at Toys R Us.

Brownsu243 said...

Does Toys R US know how dumb that sounds?? Do you know how many grandparents are under 50 years of age?? My mother was a grandmother at 43!! They are missing a great opportunity to let grandparents spoil their grandchildren and make a lot of money as well!!

9-14-2008 @ 7:02PM

Sarah said...

Number one, TRU has the right to limit their promotions and coupons however they want to. I don't have to shop there if I don't like their way of doing business.

Number two, there is something seriously wrong with a world whre people are grandparents before 50! That is MUCH too young to be a grandparent.

9-15-2008 @ 4:09AM

butcherbaby said...

i think yours is the most ignorant comment i have seen yet, out of MANY. someone can easily be a grandparent at 40 if they had their child at age 20, and their child also gave birth at 20. i don't see anything wrong with that. personally i think if a woman wants to be a mother at a young age that is just as much her right and free choice as it is for her to have education and a career before or instead of children.
i am 41, i have no children by choice, so i am not defending myself. i do have a friend who became a grandmother at age 30, because she married an older man who had already had a daughter, not because she was uneducated or a "loose".
my parents did not meet until they were in their late 30s, second marriages for both. by the time they became grandparents they were in their late 60s, but my brothers wife was a younger woman with a younger mom (a college educated biologist and concert level pianist) who was still in her forties when her grandaughter was born.
by the way, even though my mother never completed high school, let alone college, and was divorced in an era that frowned heavily on it (the 1940s), AND had a developmentally disabled child- she was never on welfare or any kind of aid, and had by the 1960s had bred hogs, rabbits, and arabian horses on her own ranches, could boat and out-deep sea fish her 2nd husband, bringing in marlin larger than she was (5 feet), and had self educated herself starting with TV repair and eventually become a leadwoman at boeing aircraft with 30 people under her, where she met my dad and retired to become a homemaker and stay at home mom for us. as for ms. ames, my family was quite financially stable on my dad's salary as an engineer at boeing/rockwell international (he worked on many high level government projects including the first space shuttle) we still shopped primarily at thrift stores, yard sales, and discount stores because they had both grown up during the depression and had their priorities straight. they had no one to impress and knew one did not need to pay a fortune for everything just because they could.

9-14-2008 @ 4:58PM

jessica said...

i feel that putting an age on it is appropriate b/c some parents could take advantage of it saying that they are a grandparent when they are actually the child's parent. i just feel that maybe they should lower it somewhat. people become grandparents younger than that, so it should be a little lower.

9-14-2008 @ 5:01PM

D. Goldman said...

HEY YOU PINHEADS!!! IT IS THEIR HOUSE, THEREFORE IT IS THEIR RULES!!! YOU ALL THINK "JUST BECAUSE" YOU ARE "THIS AND THAT" THAT EVERYONE HAS TO BOW DOWN TO WHAT YOU WANT. Reality Check: WRONG!!! It is their store, their promotion, their call.
Hell, I have to ASK for my senior discount because no one thinks I'm one -- ya never know.

9-14-2008 @ 5:02PM

Vito said...

I don't think anyone would argue that Toys 'R Us can set whatever terms or restrictions on its coupons that they want. Having said that, it seems stupid to piss off so many customers.

It's only what I expect from the EXTREMELY poor customer service that I have received from Toys 'R Us through out the years. Toys 'R Us will always be a last resort for any toy shopping...Walmart and Target are much better.

9-14-2008 @ 5:05PM

JON said...

THIS IS FOOLISH- A COMPANY HAS THE RIGHT TO LIMIT THEIR PROMOTIONS TO WHATEVER IT DEEMS FIT... WITHIN THE LAW OF COURSE

9-14-2008 @ 5:12PM

I am mad as H*** based on general principles, you have people blogging saying that you shouldn't have your children so young and you won't be young grandparents, well, I had my son when I was 21 and 23 years later he and his wife had a son. I was forty-five when he was born and I still am not 50 years old. What are you cynical people saying? you have to be 100 1/2 to have your first child so you can qualify for some meesly 20 percent discount when most know that they mark up the price to discount it anyway! All of you need to free your minds and hopefully all else will follow.

Peach said...

Your ignorance speaks for itself.

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