Money Saving Tips - Beware Baby Scams

New Scams that Come with Your New Bundle of Joy

By
Relationship Advice Expert April Masini

I just had my first child and was shocked when, at the hospital, a pushy photographer tried to convince us to take a picture as a family and buy it from him! I almost said "Yes!" because obviously, since our daughter was only hours old, we didn't have any professional pictures of her. Then it hit me: what the heck is this guy doing in a maternity ward of a hospital? Is this even legal?

Signed,

Mama Ain't No Fool

Dear Mama Ain't No Fool,

Sadly, this is just another example of people looking to make a buck taking advantage of those with their guards down. This is a photo scam, and it's not the first you'll encounter now that you've started a family. Here's a list of some of the scams parents fall into:

Photo scams — starting IN the hospital. Many hospitals have photographers who take first photos of new babies and then offer to sell them to the parents. Parents find it hard to turn down baby’s first photo. Photographers know it and capitalize on that.

Nanny scams — nannies and nanny agencies can be life savers. They can also be predators of desperate, new parents. Many nanny agencies charge a fee — usually 10 to 15 percent of a nanny’s yearly salary, whether or not the nanny works out with the family. The guarantee that they offer is if the nanny doesn’t work out, the family may not get a refund of the fee, but may hire another nanny from the same agency. However, at that point, the agency does not have motivation to get the family a new nanny since the fee has already been captured. Check out my tips for hiring nannies to make sure yours is on the up and up.

"Gifted student" scams -- While not necessarily “new”, many parents who’s children are labeled “gifted” by outside organizations, fall prey to courses, tests and tutors that are offered at a fee for these students that have been deemed to be brighter than their peers. Gifted student programs have become an industry, and parents are their market.

By nature, kids will cost you big bucks over their lifetime -- much of it, of course worth it. But pay attention to outsiders who are looking to exploit your love and affinity for your children, because no one benefits from their scams.

April Masini -- nicknamed "the new millennium's Dear Abby" by the media, is author of the best-selling books Date Out Of Your League and Think & Date Like A Man, the two (just released) step-by-step dating and relationship manuals, Ideas for a Fun Date and Romantic Date Ideas, and the critically acclaimed dating and relationship online magazine www.AskApril.com.

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