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http://digitallife.today.com/_news/2011/04/20/6500878-whoops-six-year-old-spent-150-in-android-app?GT1=43001Quote:
There's been plenty of talk about how children are managing to spend hundreds of dollars on virtual items in iPhone apps without their parents' consent or knowledge, but a six-year-old girl's Android-based shopping spree reminds us that incidents like that can happen on any mobile platform.....
Parents fault. I would never give my kid my phone so he/she could play games on it. and if that kid has her own phone, well the mom deserves it.
I find this whole story to be quite fishy. Android uses google checkout to purchase apps, which requires a password. If the kid could click 'buy' and just buy gems, that means the mom put her credit card number in something she shouldn't have.
I don't think the parents were in the wrong by letting the kids play games on their phone (there are a lot of good/educational games out there for kids). I do believe they were at fault though for allowing the charges to be racked up. Honest mistake yes, but the parent's fault none the less.
I don't mean they're in the wrong, I'm just saying I'd never let my kid play with my phone. If a six year old wants to play games buy them a leapfrog.Quote:
Originally Posted by "BloodyHorns82" #1094217
If the parent feels comfortable giving a 6 year old their phone with instant access to their life, that's up to them. Personally, I have a hard time giving people I know well my phone unless I know they know how to use it.
We let our kids use the iPod touch all the time. It keeps them quiet long enough to regain our composure in the face of insanity known as 3 little kids. We also have a leapfrog that gets used equally.
Occasionally I'll let them use my iPhone but that's a pretty rare occurrence and it is never unsupervised. I'm not as worried about them peaking into my life (not much to hide and they wouldn't get it anyways) as I am them dropping it, making accidental phone calls, or getting it wet.
I didn't think they could make in app purchased without a password but maybe I'm wrong. I'm always prompted for a password, unless the password was just punched in in which case you don't need one for the next 15 minutes. This was corrected on the latest iOS but I haven't updated yet.
I get that, an ipod is easily replacable. Yeah, it's 2-300 bucks, but replacing an iphone is upwards of 700 depending on which model you have.Quote:
Originally Posted by "BloodyHorns82" #1094228
ipod you can also easily disable internet so that your kids can't screw anything up accidentally. iphone you have airtime, data, etc. to worry about, if you disable it all then you risk missing calls or whatever.
No issue with kids playing with technology, in fact I'd encourage it. Just not my technology.