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Hoo boy, have we got a puzzler on our hands. A bunch of parents have gotten together to file a class action lawsuit against Apple for game apps they say are too "addictive" for their kids. It seems little gamers are sucking their parents' wallets dry with expensive in-app purchases.
Gee. How could parents stop their kids from wasting time and money on a game? Think, Sager, think! Hmm.
Oh! I know! I know!
They could take away the dooflatchey, doohickey, you know, whatever in heck the kid is using to access an expensive and addictive game ... and tell said kid the following: "No."
See what I did there? I just suggested parents actually parent their own children. Insane, I know. I mean, they really want to play these games! And golly gee whiz, that $59 Smurfberries purchase looks so darn fun in that Smurf game. How can we possibly tell them not to hit the purchase button? But people, you would be amazed by the results if you just try it.
Here. Let me give you an example. Last week, I was on a road trip vacation, and the battery in my iPhone was on the low side. I knew I'd be able to plug it in once we got to our hotel, so I had placed it in my purse and opted to read a memoir. And then kid put down whatever book had been making her giggle in the backseat and wanted to know if she could play Tap Tap Muppets. And I weighed out my need to have at least some battery life on my gadget versus my kid's need to waggle her fingers around on my phone. And I sided with my battery life. She whined a bit, and then she found something else to do.
Really. Not. That. Hard.
Suing one of the biggest companies in the world, on the other hand? Pretty hard. And pretty dang embarrassing when you think about it. Now the whole world knows you don't actually have the ability to tell your own child they can't do something.
But what do I know? I mean, I'm just a parent of a kid who has never racked up an exorbitant bill playing a game on my iPhone (or my iPod Touch for that matter).
Who comes out looking worse in this lawsuit? Apple or the parents?
Image via Yutaka Tsutano/Flickr
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