Parenting, Mobile | featured news

As teenagers demand independence and eventually move out, they’re not always quick to cut the cord when it comes paying their own cell phone bill. Among 620 parents with 18- to 35-year-old children, more than 40 percent of those surveyed said they still pay for their kids’ cellphone service, and 29 percent were still doing so even if their children no longer lived at home.

Mobile devices have become mini-pacifiers/babysitters for many wee ones: 52 percent of all children 8 and younger have access to mobile devices at home like a smartphone, video iPod, iPad or other tablet, according to Common Sense Media, a nonprofit group that studies children’s use of technology.

While publishers are grumbling about Apple’s new enforcement of in-app purchases for content, parents and one lawmaker are also raising questions about the way Apple handles in-app payments in apps aimed at children. According to the Washington Post, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D – MA) on Tuesday urged the Federal Trade Commission to review the way Apple markets its apps because of questions about the ease with which children are buying items in games.

"The Smurfs' Village," a game for the iPhone and other Apple gadgets, was released a month ago and quickly became the highest-grossing application in the iTunes store. Yet it's free to download.So where does the money come from? Kelly Rummelhart of Gridley, Calif., has part of the answer. Her 4-year-old son was using her iPad to play the game and racked up $66.88 in charges on her credit card without knowing what he was doing.

If you needed more proof that texting is on the rise, here's a stat for you: the average teenager sends over 3,000 texts per month. That's more than six texts per waking hour.