Today I set up a tablet for my 4 year old to use. I added my account information, and set up passwords so that he couldn’t make “accidental” purchases when playing with the tablet. There is more and more fantastic technology for our children – and we need to monitor their access. We put parental controls on our computers, parental passwords on our cable boxes, and now with Virtual Piggy we can provide parental guidance while allowing our children to shop online.
My son is too young to start shopping online on his own, but I love knowing that this technology exists. We have started to teach him about the value of money, and the different ways to use it: spend, save, or give to charity. And because of how technologically savvy our young generation is, many of his first purchases will probably be internet purchases. He already knows that I can look up photos on the computer, and days later those items can arrive at our house, and he knows that I can buy movies and computer games to play instantly.
Not being able to read, he once made an accidental purchase on my tablet while playing Angry Birds. I was sitting next to him using my computer and saw a message come up on my Google Account thanking me for my purchase! I’ve heard horror stories from friends about children unknowingly (or in some cases, knowingly) purchasing $100 or more in apps. While password protecting the finances completely is a good option for young children, as our children get older we want to give them controlled access to money so that they can have real experiences with money.
Virtual Piggy allows parents to set up an account linked to their card or PayPal account. They can set up several children under that account, and set up individual parental controls for spending, including approving purchases at approved vendors before the transaction is final. You can find out all about how Virtual Piggy works here.
This is a sponsored post from Splash Creative Media on behalf of Virtual Piggy. All opinions are my own.
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