How to Stop Your Child's Mobile Overspending Habits

Mobile Phones and Children

If you plan on getting a mobile phone for your child, you should think thrice. Children can indulge in many things with this gadget. They can play games; listen to music; keep in touch with family and friends; and surf the internet and buy things. Yes, you read it right. Children can buy things on the mobile phone. You will say that you haven't given them your credit card details. Well, it turns out that they don't need a credit card. Whatever they buy will get added to the mobile bill! For example, if they are playing a game and suddenly run out of points, they can buy that to get to the next level. Moreover, new applications are coming up every day. Everything runs on money, from music downloads to funny videos to trailers of latest movies, etc. Without knowing what it's used for, children click on it and voila, it ends up on your bill!

Parents have to see that the settings of the phone have been done. Through this, you can stop the popups and updates. You should also explain to the child not to click on anything and everything. Moreover, you cannot always see what the child is up to. So what should you do? If you take the mobile phone away, the child will throw tantrums. The situation becomes tough to handle. It will take days or weeks for the matter to cool off. And the child will start holding a grudge! It is better to keep the ground rules clear from the beginning or better yet; you shouldn't have gotten that mobile phone in the first place!

Effective Tips to Follow

If a toddler is on a rampage, parents give them a mobile phone to distract them. The child sits down and begins to quietly explore the new gadget. This is the beginning of mobile phone addiction! A couple of days later, when the parents try the same thing, the child will gladly take the device. When the parents try to take the away the device, the child screams. The child will not let go of the device at any cost!! And some of you may have experienced hefty mobile bills. Here are a few tips you can try:

1.    Tech Understanding - it is best to learn about the mobile phone, its settings and its operation features. You can go through the user guide. Without knowing its features, some parents just hand it over to their children. The children figure out how to use the devices themselves with their sharp mind.

2.    Monitor - very good parent should observe their children's activities. The best way is to install a parental monitoring application or software on the mobile phone. You will get every single detail of your child's mobile activity! Sounds great, doesn't it.

3.    Limit the internet - parents should limit the internet connectivity on their children's phone. This will prevent unnecessary application updates and shopping flashes.

4.    Rules - this works all the time. Parents should lay out rules on how much time children should spend using their mobile phones and tablets. Make them aware of the consequences of breaking the rules.

The Positive Side

Parents can teach their children a lot of things through a mobile device. Children will feel mature. Parents can give them the responsibility of how they handle the device. If children damage it, make them understand that they have to bear the repair costs from their pocket money. If they want to get accessories, they should utilize their pocket money. With a mobile phone, children and parents can be in touch with each other. Parents can check on them whenever they like. The children can send text messages to the parents and vice-versa. Parents can make them aware of the emergency numbers and put it on speed-dial. Moreover, it connects the children into a family and friend network. Mobile phones enhance skill development. Children can edit photographs and videos. They can use it for assignment purposes such as creating short documentaries or the like. Parents should make the children aware of cyber-bullying and activities which they are not to participate in such as sexting and giving details of the family on social media etc.

They should teach children that responsibility brings about maturity. If the rules are broke then, children should be ready for the consequences. Overall, we live in a mobile world where everything runs on gadgets. It's good if a whole family can connect with it.