Many applications, games, and advertisements are designed in such a way that they attract children’s minds. The animations, designs, and marketing strategies are supposed to appeal to children. Children are unaware of certain strategies, and they may unknowingly transfer money online. Getting attracted by such schemes, children tend to spend money unnecessarily.
Where do children spend money online?
Because of not having proper guidance, children could not understand ways of managing financial affairs. Children keep on spending without knowing a circumference that they are going to face.
First of all, you should know the area or sites where children spend money and think further. Mostly, children tend to spend money online in the following sectors:
1. Gaming, microtransactions, and loot boxes:
Children are addicted to games and so, they like to spend money on games. Nowadays, with the aim of distracting children, game owners have come up with new ideas to enhance their business. Minecraft, free fire, subway surfers, FIFA, and other games have loot boxes strategies.
Game owners have started loot boxes and microtransactions where children should buy the treasures to upgrade their gaming experience. Children also get curious and start spending money.
2. Digital gifting and live streaming:
Many applications such as beauty apps, video editors, photo editors, TikTok have come up with gifts and live streaming online, which is in paid form. In the wish of digital gifts, kids get manipulated, and they spend money.
To be more popular and winner, children, get curious and excited, and they start spending money recklessly. They might not even know the amount of money they are spending.
Ways to stop your children from spending money online:
Before the technology takes place, parents would deny their kids their unwanted gifts and treats easily. As banking transactions have made lives easier, sometimes it creates trouble for parents. Kids spend recklessly.
To prevent your children from unnecessarily wasting money online, you can apply the following ways:
1. Manage your phone’s store settings:
Please do not keep your settings to auto-fill options; your children can easily get your credit card details and misuse them. Setting passwords, face recognition, or thumbprints can help prevent your children from spending money online.
Use the child lock option on your phone regarding your banking transaction activities. Set a password for every user transaction. By doing so, your child could not spend money, and you can happily handover your devices to kids.
If your children are repeatedly nagging for game transactions, you can also set a money usage limitation option available in your phone settings. By so doing, you can stop them from spending money on games.
2. Teach your kids about the financial consequences of their actions:
Children spend recklessly without knowing what the consequences could be. Children mostly spend unknowingly. Parents’ responsibility is to teach their children about how to value money and manage finance safely.
Parents can also show some videos related to saving money and its consequences when spending more. Storytelling may also help, or you can show demos and acts regarding the subject.
If you set a habit of spending wisely on children, it is beneficial for both the parents and children. Parents could undoubtedly handover mobile phones to children if they become responsible for financial issues.
3. Conduct children’s budget reports weekly:
To save your children from spending more and make them realize the value of money, reviewing the amount they spend and saving by conducting a small meeting weekly is considerable.
In such a meeting, you can also list the useful and non-useful things they have spent on and teach them how to differentiate the useful and non-useful things.
Make sure your children realize the mistake and learn from it. Set limitations of cash used on a certain day. Introduce a rewarding and punishing system for kids to become more aware and think twice before breaking the rules.
4. Use parental control applications:
The most appropriate way to protect your children from spending online is by using a parental control application. Fenced.ai, Qustodio, KidLogger are some of the parental control applications. You can monitor your children’s devices and also block some sites or contents that are inappropriate for them using such apps.
You can also block the use of monetary transactions in your device for kids to stop them from spending money unnecessarily on games and other apps. Access your children’s device and do not allow them to swap your card online. You can also limit or stop the transaction by controlling their device.
Parental control apps solve many problems by making the internet safe for use to children. Both the parents and children are benefited from these apps. Children could be able to see only those sites selected by parents and control every phone activity.
5. Do not let your children know your credit card details:
Sharing your bank details or credit card details with children is not a good idea. Think a lot about the consequences before jumping into such decisions. Adults cannot handle spending less money wisely, then how can you expect children could manage it?
Just add your bank details by yourself and also spend as little money as required. Set limitations up to how much money you are going to spend on video games or shopping. Teach them not to demand and stop being stubborn.
Adding child lock settings or setting passwords, face recognition, or thumbprint might be suitable. Children, hence, could not misuse their credit card information and not be able to spend money.
6. Start pocket money system:
Rather than sharing your bank card PIN with your children, you can switch to the pocket money system. Seeing their needs, you can decide the amount for your children.
By doing such, you can control your children’s expenses, and your children could understand why saving money is important. Children will get to spend as per the requirements and limitation of money.
This will lead to utilizing money wisely, saving money, and understanding the value of money in daily life. After that, you can also allow them to use online money with some restrictions, laws, and orders.
7. Be around the children when they are playing games:
If your children are unaware of the money they are spending on games, it is better to check on them frequently. Keep checking what they are doing and so on. Try to take detailed information about their cell phone usage.
Sometimes, cross-checking your children’s activities are also acceptable. If you see your children clicking on payment methods, you can stop them from doing so and warn them not to click on such advertisements ever.
Children could understand slowly why the parents are being insecure and will stop doing such things eventually. Ensure your children understand your problem, quit the habit of unnecessarily, and start spending less.
8. Keep surprising children occasionally:
Everyone loves surprises. Know what your kids want and what they are seeking and surprise with such gifts. If children keep getting gifts, either expensive or not, they will not need to spend independently.
Sometimes, give extra money to your children as a bonus. Take them to short tours, picnics, shopping, or other fun areas. Give a convincing reason for kids if you could not take them somewhere.
Bringing chocolates, treats, gifts, and other kinds of stuff makes them satisfied and do not crave more, and they will stop spending on their own. Know what your children love and enjoy. You can divert the children’s mind easily and also manipulate positively.
9. Teach your children how to be comfortable and satisfied:
There is no end to children’s desires and demands. Without knowing the situation, children tend to keep nagging and showing tantrums. Children also imitate others and demand similar kinds of stuff.
Parents can teach children to get satisfied and be comfortable with what they have. Children should know that they need not compulsorily have everything they want; it is okay not to have something.
Do not lean on their stubbornness; instead, teach them the value of money and satisfaction without kinds of stuff. Children should be taught to search for happiness in small things rather than expensive materialistic kinds of stuff. Self-satisfaction and stepping in their own shoes might help them.
10. Install useful games and application:
Games like animal crossing, mine craft, Island saver, and more can help your children know the importance of money, handle them, and spend them wisely.
Above mentioned games teach them to save money, take loans, and clear loans as soon as possible, how it feels to be credited, and other finance-related affairs.
Such games help make children more understanding, responsible and intelligent. By doing so, your kids could understand your problems, hard work, and dedication; and they will stop spending more either online or cash.
Conclusion
To prevent your children from spending more money online, parents should responsibly handle children; teach them the value of money. The most important thing is not to share your credit card details with your children and not keep your phone settings to auto-fill your bank details.
