Boy runs up $2550 iPad bill playing zombie game

[+Gemintronic]

Give them constructive tools they can explore. Make sure they respect those tools. Not setting better controls on your iPad so Little Timmy can veg out on freemium games doesn't sound like a reward for anyone.

[godslabrat]

Why exactly? Kids get into trouble. That's what they do.

 

Then why give them something expensive and fragile?

 

The fact that you think at age five all a kid will do to an ipad is barf on it proves you don't know a thing about kids. My five (just shy of six) year old knows his alphabet, and can read well above his age level.

 

You have reason to be proud of your kid, that's an excellent sign. But to be fair, he didn't need an iPad to learn that.

 

 

 

He learned in pre-K at age 4. In addition to traditional books guess what they used? Ipads.

And really, so what if it's spoiling them? My kids deserve it and all the things I couldn't have as a kid make me want to give them even more. Does that make me a dumbass or a bad parent? Let me know and I'll tell you whether or not I care.

 

I wouldn't call you a dumbass or a bad parent... at least, not until you come to me saying your kid trashed your iPad and you're freaked out because now you're out $500. Then I will laugh my ass off. This isn't personal against you, I see this happen a lot, for children as young as two. A parent wants to get their kids a tablet, and I just want to say "Well, how about throwing in some ginsu knives, some malt liquor, and the keys to the Escalade?"

[Tickled_Pink]

Well, as a case in point (kind of) a friend (mentioned on another thread) had her ex buy her two girls (8 and 10) a tablet each for christmas. I suggested the Playbook (yes, I really do like it - it's a rugged little bastard). Despite being on £800 per week, most of which he gambles (hence the reason he's an ex), he bought them a couple of unknown brand £80 tablets from Amazon. TBH I was expecting them to be slow unresponsive crap. They're not bad for the money, to be fair.

 

However - the younger one has smashed her sister's touch screen just by dropping it on a carpeted floor and she's lost her own, which is apparently faulty anyway, so I can't take them apart to make one working machine.

 

That's the problem with today's gadgets - too easy to lose or destroy. The gadgets I got for Christmas included the 2600 and 800XL. Lasted me years and there was no way I could possibly lose something that size.

[TheGameCollector]

Good point. Couldn't believe it when an aunt bought an iPad Mini for each for her two granddaughters - aged 3 and 5! I suggested the Blackberry Playbook to her because a) they are fairly cheap and b) they are solid. Unfortunately their snob of a mother insisted that they wanted an iPad each. A few weeks ago, one dropped hers and cracked the digitiser ... crap ... just remembered that my aunt asked me how much a replacement was.

 

iPads aren't toys.

 

I think the commercial that shows the talking baby in his crib with a laptop and smartphone is becoming more of a reality than one would believe.

[Schizophretard]

I really don't see anything wrong with letting a kid play a zombie game on and iPad and don't see how it is bad parenting. The parents have some rubber shielding on the iPad, their home is clean and well organized, he is wearing a tie, and he is holding it just as well as an adult would. They look like the type of parents that take good care of their home and teach their kids to show the same respect for it. That is a good environment to provide for a child. I highly doubt he is some ghetto trash kid that can get away with having fits while throwing iPads into the trash and dog shit that is on the floor. Also, his body language tells me he is of high intelligence and well behaved. I think that if a parent can't trust their kid to not break an iPad then that is a sign of bad parenting. Teaching a kid how to take care of things, dress themselves, clean their room,... should all happen before their first day of school. If a kid can't behave at home them how will they be able to behave well enough to learn in school?

 

The only problem I see is that someone invented a game that could rack up a bill of at least $2550. That's the type of price I would expect to see on a slot machine. The only reason I can imagine a game to have that is to exploit the gamer like a casino exploits someone with a gambling addiction. To me the only reason to have downloadable content would be so you can sell a lite version of the game for cheaper so more people could enjoy it and the extras you sell would have a reasonable maximum price to purchase the complete game.

[+Gemintronic]

Fudge tablets. What happened to some spare printer paper and a pen? I was kept busy for days making one contiguous maze out of dozens of pages of dot matix sheets. I somehow managed to not max out a credit card on that one.

[iswitt]

Not setting better controls on your iPad so Little Timmy can veg out on freemium games...

 

While I agree that freemium games aren't my cup of tea, you are assuming that no one can gain anything from playing a freemium game. Would you rather have the kid read books instead all day? He might be learning, but he's doing the same amount physical activity. And he might be reading something totally inane. What about movies/TV? He could be drawing all day. Or building puzzles. While these activities all have varying degrees of mental exertion involved and very little physical activity (and within each activity you can find an array of mentally engaging [or otherwise] examples), my point is that it really doesn't make a difference what medium of entertainment your kid is engaging in. Knowing what your kid is doing and understanding the nature of their interests is key to better parenting. If they are reading, read the same books and talk with them about the themes they are experiencing. If they are playing tablet games, play those games to better understand the environment and set rules/limitations as needed.

Edited March 8, 2013 by iswitt

[cparsley]

That dollar amount is nothing, when I worked at Apple, I'd see $10k+ bills, more times than not in the Smurfs app, no less...

 

Apple always is more than happy to reimburse, and then charges back the app developer per the agreement they sign with Apple.

 

This isn't as uncommon as you think.

[cparsley]

AND YES, there are settings parents can put REAL EASY to prevent it, do they, NOOOOOO!!!

[+Gemintronic]

While I agree that freemium games aren't my cup of tea, you are assuming that no one can gain anything from playing a freemium game. Would you rather have the kid read books instead all day? He might be learning, but he's doing the same amount physical activity. And he might be reading something totally inane. What about movies/TV? He could be drawing all day. Or building puzzles. While these activities all have varying degrees of mental exertion involved and very little physical activity (and within each activity you can find an array of mentally engaging [or otherwise] examples), my point is that it really doesn't make a difference what medium of entertainment your kid is engaging in. Knowing what your kid is doing and understanding the nature of their interests is key to better parenting. If they are reading, read the same books and talk with them about the themes they are experiencing. If they are playing tablet games, play those games to better understand the environment and set rules/limitations as needed.

 

I think we are agreed. This all leads back to the first sentence in that very same post.

Give them constructive tools they can explore. Make sure they respect those tools.

[JamesD]

Parenting 101 c/o Atariage

[98PaceCar]

Parenting 101 c/o Atariage

 

Being responsible for your actions and not whining when you get slammed with a bill that was easily preventable FTW.

[Cebus Capucinis]

I love these threads, they're almost as polarized and inflammatory as politics threads. Seriously though, and I'm guilty of it, parenting seems one of the most polarized topics out there.

[+Gemintronic]

I used to spank myself yet I'm still spoiled. Maybe this whole parenting thing is a fraud

[+boxpressed]

In some ways, the topic of this thread determined the kinds of responses to the story. If you're on Atari Age, there's a good chance that you believe that violent video games have no connection to violent people. So, you might believe that violent behavior in children and adolescents is primarily the fault of bad parenting. People use themselves and their own experience as evidence. Thus, we have a lot of people faulting the parents here for anything "wrong" that a kid does.

 

A colleague of mine has a nice saying: the singular form of data is not anecdote.

[TheGameCollector]

I used to spank myself yet I'm still spoiled. Maybe this whole parenting thing is a fraud

 

Lol doing it to yourself isn't quite the same as someone else forcing you past what is bearable. Find a chick who really means business and you'll learn your lesson... for like 2 days. Then your urge to piss her off for fun will start again. Masochism at its finest.

 

More seriously though, accountability is something that as an adult takes some people longer than others to gain. Why else did I have to sell almost my whole game collection 3 times? I didn't learn my lesson that once I had a job I needed to always watch my back for dips in hours or expressions in my bosses' attitudes to prepare for new jobs to switch to at the first sign of resentment toward me. And I hope I learned to not spend too much at once so next time I'll have plenty of cash saved up instead of having to sell things. If I ever lose my job again I need to be sure I get on pursuing a new one right away rather than just hibernating till the cash gets low like I did in 2011.

 

Good or bad parenting isn't the only determining factor. It's also outside influences. A kid who was raised well might think they'll be good now, but be plotting a turn for the worse as soon as they turn 18 just to take advantage of their newfound freedom just because they're bored of the same lifestyle. Free will can be scary.

[Spoon]

Sure are a lot of perfect parents in here.

 

Thank you! People are so quick to jump all over the parents and claim "bad parenting". The parents made a mistake. All parents will make mistakes. That's just how life goes. You learn and move on. These parents made a big mistake, and now everybody with a pitchfork and/or torch wants them to wear the Scarlet BP.

 

For the love of god. When you hear about the same five year old driving the dad back from the bar because he's too drunk to drive himself, then you can break out the "bad parenting" chants. But when you hear of some parents entrusting their iPad to their five year old who accidentally rings up a huge bill, why don't you put that stone back on the ground and chalk this one up in the mistake category.