ATTN: Parents with Tablets...

If you are a parent that owns a tablet, an iPad, or even a smart phone, you will want to take special note of this post. Remember it read it often, this is important.  I like most parents, let my five year old use my tablet, to play games, take care of his fish, and draw. I always am monitoring what he is doing, with him right next to me, but I am usually on my laptop doing work related things. I am not 100% watching what he is doing every single second, but make sure that he isn’t doing something he shouldn’t. Not that he would purposely do something he shouldn’t that would endanger him, come on he is five.  It is part of our daily ritual for him to ask to use my tablet to check on his fish and play the plane game.  I of course can’t resist his smile especially when his cheek dimple is present. I am putty in my five year old's hands.  He has an allotted amount of tablet time each day, if he misbehaves that is the first thing to go. 

You can of course purchase games, apps, coins and credits for certain things. I had some extra money left over so I thought, hey I will let Noah upgrade his plane game and get him some coins and bucks for his fish game.  I wasn’t going to attach it to my bank account because I had this fear, I don’t know if it was because I remember when my old best friend’s son got a hold of my phone and downloaded a few ring tones, that I had to pay for. It was only like 5 or 6 bucks no big deal.  I was not under any circumstances have that linked to my bank account. So, I had a prepaid credit card that I used.  I am a smart cookie, because I signed on gmail, which is what my Android account is linked to, so I could talk to one of my greatest friends Lee. I never really sign on it ever, unless it is to use gchat. I noticed in my email there were a few extra purchases made. One being one million coins on Tap Fish for the price of $99.99, which was a purchase made by my five year old trying to magically get coins. Either that or he thinks I am made of money.  There wasn't that much left on the card, I think there was like 90 cents. So, it was cancelled, thank God. I used to “magically” get him coins by selling fish at night when he was asleep. He would freak out if he knew I was selling them. I was mom during the day and fish pimp at night.

Here is my important advice, if you have a tablet; it takes literally three taps for your child to put you in financial ruin. You should use a prepaid credit card for this. Seriously, you will thank me later. Never have it linked to your bank account, a normal credit card, or Paypal, if they take Paypal. Now I know it is annoying to go to the store and there is a fee of like $5, but it is so much easier than finding out that adorable child you brought in this world took your hard earned money and fighting the bank and the app people. It is worth your sanity. TRUST ME.