An 8-year-old with access to his mom’s Amazon account ordered 70,000 lollipops – raising $4,200 worth of questions about kids, devices, and digital spending.
There are many reasons not to allow an 8-year-old kid to access your phone without your supervision – protecting them from harmful content and overstimulation, to name but two.
Accidental purchases could be another reason – and when 70,000 Dum Dum lollipops arrived at Holly LaFaver’s doorstep, she must have suspected that something wasn’t right.
Her 8-year-old son, Liam, had placed a $4,200 order (that’s 30 cases) using his mom’s Amazon account.
Liam, diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, was trying to plan a carnival for his friends and thought a bulk order of confectionery would be just the ticket.
The order went through without his mom noticing, and initially, Amazon told her to reject the delivery.
But despite communicating with their customer service, the cases still arrived because the delivery driver never knocked or rang the bell.
Candy chaos unleashed
In the aftermath, Holly turned to Facebook and crowdsourced the community for help. Impressively, neighbors, banks, and local businesses pitched in and bought up the surplus cargo.
Some lollipops were even donated by Holly and Liam to local schools and churches.
The media attention went viral, and eventually, Amazon issued a full refund—saying they were pleased something positive had come out of the gaffe.
Despite the happy ending, this raises a bigger issue: kids are getting increasing access to devices linked to payment platforms.
Parental controls are often not enabled – or just misunderstood.
Gaming bills gone wild
Liam’s case is extreme – but not isolated – as it’s happened before, especially in relation to gaming, where addiction and dependency often result in huge amounts of credits purchased or massive gaming bills.
As apps become more sophisticated in targeting young users, the orders are not just about impulsive clicks – they require a conversation about digital literacy from parent to child.
The line between play and payment becomes increasingly blurred as children get excited and overwhelmed, placing orders in extreme quantities in a land of make-believe.
The outcome of the LaFavers’ case may have been favorable, but the next one could be more serious unless proper attention is raised.
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