Looking at the credit card statement, you find a string of monthly charges you do not recognize. We have started hearing this story from families whose children carry their own devices. When asked, the child only says, "I just pressed a button in the game," or "It said it was free." By the time anyone notices, six months of charges — tens of thousands of yen — may already have been withdrawn.
Money issues with children are no longer limited to cash and allowances. How do you build a sense of money in a world where a single tap completes a payment? This is education that can only begin at home.
- Consultations about elementary, junior high, and high school students' online game spending reached 4,024 cases in fiscal 2022, with an average contract amount of roughly 330,000 yen (National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan, March 2024)
- In fiscal 2023, the average amount already paid was 105,741 yen for elementary school students and 193,366 yen for junior high school students (National Consumer Affairs Center, March 2025)
- Payments typically go through a parent's registered credit card or carrier billing bundled into the phone bill — a structure in which the child never feels the money leaving.
The blurry line between "free" and "paid"
Most smartphone games and apps advertise themselves as "free to play." The download and the first hours of play really are free — but progressing faster or obtaining special items soon requires in-app purchases.
From the child's point of view, they simply "pressed the same button as always inside a game that said it was free." A payment confirmation screen may appear, but if the family's authentication password is saved on the device, one tap goes straight through. The bill arrives at the end of the month, and almost no game gives the child a running view of what they have spent and on what.
Three safeguards to set up at home — in advance
There are three main safeguards worth putting in place before trouble starts.
First, turn on purchase restrictions on the device itself. Screen Time on iOS and Family Link on Android can require parental approval for every in-app purchase. Do not leave a family credit card registered on a child's account. This alone prevents the majority of impulse charges.
Second, give the child a spending ceiling of their own. Prepaid cards or gift codes bought at a convenience store, handed over with a fixed monthly amount, work well. Deciding what to spend within money they can actually see in their hands is what builds a sense of digital money. Handing a child an account linked directly to a credit card is close to handing over an unlimited license far too early.
Third, build a habit of reviewing spending afterward. At the end of each month, look at the statement together and confirm what was spent on what — not to scold, but to reflect. Creating moments where a child can notice for themselves, "I didn't really need that one," is what works over the long run.
If trouble has already happened
If a large bill has already arrived, contracts made by minors can in some circumstances be canceled under Japan's minor's right of rescission. Calling the national Consumer Hotline (188, no area code) connects you to your local consumer affairs center, which can walk you through the specific steps. Before concluding that "it was our child's fault," start with the public consultation channels.
Talk about money and digital life at home — before trouble does
Subscriptions and in-game purchases will keep working their way deeper into children's lives. Learning from failure is a healthy process — but when the failure costs hundreds of thousands of yen, it stops being healthy.
Digital Kodomo BASE is considering classes for children on money and digital life. Families are welcome to reach out to us about digital spending at home.