Hixson parents mull over kids shopping through mobile apps

A Texas 2-year-old recently bought over $60 from McDonald’s on his mom’s phone

HIXSON, Tenn. (WDEF) – Cheeseburgers and Americans are a love affair that dates back to when our ancestors took that first juicy bite.

However, a young Texas toddler’s love of cheeseburgers surprised both his mother and his wallet.

The story of the two-year-old’s mobile order has since gone national.

Like Kenan and Kel, little Barrett Golden just wanted a “good burger.”

However, unbeknownst to his mother, he took her phone and ordered 31.

It cost her mom, Kelsey Golden, $61.58 in fast food — plus a $16 tip from the toddler.

The entire order after fees was $91.70.

“He doesn’t understand anything,” Golden said. “I don’t even think he realizes he did it. He just does that with phones.

In Hixson, the Schulte family experienced something similar a few years ago.

Their two children, then 3 and 5, bought movies through Amazon Prime.

The kids got their Disney fix while parents Jenny and Frank got more credit card bills.

“We didn’t have an access code to buy things because we’ve never had this problem before,” mum Jenny said. “They know how to use remote controls [and] how to order things apparently just by doing the “ok”, “ok”.

For new parents and parents with young children, Schulte advised them to simply “supervise” their device activity.

Lock certain apps on mobile devices and set passcodes to prevent unwanted access to emails and photos.

Mother to mother, Schulte has bonded with Golden and says sometimes incidents like ordering Barrett’s from McDonald’s are just part of parenting.

“That would suck,” Schulte said with a laugh. “I’m sorry. That wouldn’t be great. But that’s kind of what happens with kids – just fun and interesting stuff. You just have to move on and learn from it.

As for Frank, he echoed his wife’s message and said that at the end of the day, while there was a bill, there was also a story to tell for years to come as the family grew. was growing.

“The first time my kids decided to order movies, I saw the credit card bill and thought, ‘Did we order this? ‘” Schulte said. “But then, later, there’s a laugh for something relatively innocuous like that.”

He also said that as a parent, while it’s important to monitor your children’s activity on mobile devices, it’s also important not to protect them from it.

After all, it will eventually become part of their lives.

As for the Golden family, at least Barrett only ordered 31 cheeseburgers…not 31 Big Macs.