The physical version of a more common problem described in the article: kids making big virtual purchases without their parents realizing. It's very difficult to prevent even with helicopter parenting.
Lol no it isn't. Stop linking your account to smart devices and stop enabling one click ordering. Never give a child access to a credit card without preset spending limits.
You're trading convenience for the likelihood of these things happening. That's a CHOICE.
What advertisement have you ever seen that said "don't log out of your website accounts, and additionally don't have separate computer accounts for your children's use"?
There's a lot of nudging to log in and enable stuff to facilitate impulse buys. Even little things like when you log in, it stays logged on afterwards.
Wha? Whats difficult about not giving your child unsupervised access to your credit card? Thats pretty plain negligence. I need to keep saying this, apparently: What about modern parents actually get their shit together and do some actual parenting? Either society is blamed (see social networks) or the system is blamed for their failure to take care of their children.
How do you prevent a sufficiently motivated teenager from stealing a credit card out of your wallet while you're asleep?
I know someone who legitimately has to stash their wallet under their pillow at night.
It's very easy to judge from a distance, but kids are smart and people usually aren't prepared to or in the habit of being that defensive inside their own home.
How is that difficult? Only log into your accounts that make purchases on personal devices that you don’t give to your kids. Have dedicated devices for your child (good because you can lock it down more) or have a shared family device.
It’s incredibly easy - a kid can’t have a credit card or a bank account, so don’t give them yours. The end, they can’t make purchases without your knowledge.
No... No, it's not. Just require password/confirmation for every purchase. I have 3 kids and not a single one has purchased anything without me approving it (where they did not pay with their own pocket money).
You're trading convenience for the likelihood of these things happening. That's a CHOICE.