Sonic Strikes Again

On an especially crowded  bus on the way home tonight, I really wanted to read my book, but I was stuck in the middle of the back row, out of range of reading lights, so I played with my phone. When I checked my email, I found a statement from iTunes. $34.29 in downloaded apps. Sonic the Hedgehog, 99 cents, Sonic the Hedgehog, $1.99, and on and so forth. I had a little time to prepare for our conversation, to reinforce the idea that only free apps were allowed and only with permission and only Mom has the password.

More iFun.

The problem is, the password authorization for the free download doesn't just snap off after the installation. It last awhile. Long enough for TJ to download a pile of Sonic the Hedgehog comics. Perhaps unwittingly. If it works, it must be free, right?
Ahem.
Enter Daddy. I picked him up at the train in the heavy rain and told him about the downloads. He wasn't happy. Nor was he vigilant. More on that later.


We had a talk with TJ with the help of Yuanfang. He admitted to having the Sonic comics and accessories. He promised never to download anything again. I asked him for a hug. he refused. For a while. Fast forward to bedtime. TJ looked up at me and said, "Why mama no dollars for iPhone?"


While Mom gets emails about her iTunes charges, Dad's iPparatuses report to an email account that he never checks. He checked tonight. He had a few downloads too. Smurf games and Smurfberries. Bushels and buckets and barrows of Smurfberries. A total of more than $300, including two of the $99.99 mega-semi-tractor-trailer loads of evil berries. They were downloaded a month ago, when TJ's English was minimal. A quick Google search to make sure I was spelling Smurfberries correctly  filled me in on the whole Smurf snafu. I guess I have been too busy playing Angry Birds to read about the true hazards of being plugged in and being the mom of the kid whose first handful of English words included iPhone.