A New Jersey family is learning to limit their child’s screen time after discovering their 22-month-old son accidentally charged almost $2,000 while playing on his mother’s phone.
According to News12, the Kumar family had just moved into a new home and immediately started receiving packages they never ordered.
Initially, they thought they were being pranked as multiple shipments from Walmart’s online delivery arrived on their doorstep and most of the surprise packages included furniture.
After some investigation, the family noticed their credit card had been charged a whopping $1,700, and the culprit for overspending was their toddler — Ayaansh Kumar.
As a pandemic parent, this is a hard and expensive lesson to learn.
Screen habits for children born during the pandemic are quite different from children born pre-pandemic. The Kumar’s toddler is fascinated by tech, especially after watching his older siblings attend virtual school, the parents shared.
It’s no shock that one of the young boy’s favorite pastimes is playing on his mother’s phone, and he is pretty good at navigating the screens.
“He just went to the cart, and whatever was there, boom, he just clicked, and all payments just went through,” Kumar’s father tells News12.
“He likes phones because everybody is in virtual,” says Kumar’s mother.
“They are busy with their phones, his siblings always with their phones, and I don’t know… I think he needs a phone,” Kumar’s mom jokes.
The family told News12 that they have reached out to Walmart and explained what happened. Walmart has agreed to allow them to return items they don’t wish to keep, but more boxes are still on the way.
The Kumars have received 75 percent of the ordered items, and while they plan to make some returns, they are also removing their credit card information from their phones and adding passcodes.
