BillMyParents.com – A Parent’s Review

Sheila Crosby / Web & Software

What is BillMy Parents, you ask? Well, according to the company, it allows teens “the freedom to shop online, but parents still control what is purchased.” My favorite marketing tag line on the site is, “Where teens are in charge, but parents are in control.”

A possible scenario:

BillMyParents is powered by Amazon, so as soon as my daughter starts shopping she is presented with the various verticals that Amazon features. (Online gaming and social networking sites are coming soon.) My daughter starts shopping and sees a nice digital camera that she wants. (Keep in mind that with some items, you don’t see the actual price until you put it in your shopping cart.) My daughter sees the product description, maybe reads it, maybe doesn’t, and then hits the large blue button that says BillMyParents. She potentially has no idea how much the camera that she’s asking for costs. At that point, I would get some kind of notification that she has put this camera on her list of potential purchases. This information is presented to me in some type of list format, and since I will never subscribe to the service… I believe I’m then allowed to accept, postpone or deny her request. I’m making a few assumptions here, but that’s the general concept.

Here are my top 3 issues. (I have about 87, but I’ll keep this short.)

1. Fiscal Responsibility
   The top right hand corner of the BillMyParents screen claims “no credit card required!” I have two daughters, ages 11 and 9. They rarely see me pay for things with actual dollars and cents, so they somewhat understand the concept of a debit or credit card but it’s still a bit magical to them. When we go shopping and they inevitably beg for something (all parents should recognize this phenomenon), I ask them how much the item costs and if they want it badly enough to pay for it with their own money. 99.9% of the time, they will decline the item if they think it’s coming out of their piggy bank. My sincere hope is that I’m teaching them to understand the associated value of a product before making the purchase. What does this site suggest to my (soon-to-be) teens? That they can shop all they want and don’t even have to pay attention to the large bold (usually red) type that lists the price? With the economy in the shape it is in, what is this site potentially teaching the next generation?
2. A Perpetual Christmas Wish List.
   The anticipation of a holiday will decline. They would no longer have to wait until the end of the year to make a list of things they hope to find under the Christmas tree. (And at our house, the Christmas list is a wish list, not a shopping list, so my daughters understand that they probably won’t get everything on their list.) Now, in defense of BillMyParents, I have the right to decline a purchase, and that means that for the most part, I get to be the bad guy all year long.
3. What Communication?
   I’m still getting used to my older daughter sending me SMS messages. I get mobile hugs and kisses as much as I get the real thing. With BillMyParents, my kids will no longer have to justify a purchase they want to make; they just hit the big blue button. Sometimes, I get a lot of enjoyment out of the case my daughter will make for something she thinks she has to have. (I would miss this as the entertainment value is usually pretty high.) Now they can harass me through my inbox. Awesome. But wait, there’s more. Not only can they send requests to me and their dad, but they can also hit up their aunts, uncles, grandparents… and the best part about that, my daughters don’t have to ask me ahead of time if they can start electronically harassing their loved ones. The site encourages teens to ask their parents for permission first, but that’s like really reading the small print before you hit “Accept Terms of Agreement.”

I embrace new technologies and the services they bring, as long as I can see the inherent value. I shudder to think what this site has the potential to turn the next generation of consumers into.

GET STUFF NOW! NO CREDIT CARD REQUIRED.

Are they serious? Thanks, Socialwise, Inc. but stop the ride, I want to get off.

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