Mom laughed off her little daughter's morning confession about Alexa — until an Amazon notification proved her wrong
Morning routines in most homes with young children are a blend of half-finished cereal bowls, scattered toys, and a lot of chatter. For Kaylyn Rathel, a 33-year-old mother from Harris County, Texas, one particular morning took that familiar scene and turned it into something she never imagined. As reported by Newsweek on November 27, 2025, one day just before breakfast, her daughter had an unusual confession, one so unexpected that Kaylyn couldn’t help but laugh at first. The little girl told her that she and her brother, Waylon, had been shopping. In an Instagram video shared under the handle @kaylynrathel, she can be heard asking in disbelief, “You did what?”
Kaylyn Rathel recalled the moment with the same mix of confusion and shock she felt then. “I thought they were joking at first, I didn’t think they’d actually know how to order anything from Alexa,” she said. But she checked her Amazon account and found that the kids had somehow figured out Alexa’s purchasing feature. They bought a $37 princess dress, a four-pack of LED light-saber wands for $28, and a coloring set worth $7.
“She went and showed me, and I didn’t think she actually did it because she couldn’t redo it,” Kaylyn explained. “But it wasn’t until I saw the emails of the things they ordered I realized they actually did order it. Thankfully, I was able to cancel the orders.”
The incident reflects a growing pattern across households with smart devices, where products like Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and Google Assistant are common in homes. While they offer convenience, many parents have reported that their kids are using them without permission. Many families are receiving surprise deliveries, accidental buys, or mystery packages ordered during moments of unsupervised play. Experts note that instead of completely restricting access, parents can tighten security settings to avoid unintended purchases.
“Customers have a number of options to control their Alexa shopping experience, including turning off Alexa voice purchasing any time in the Alexa App (Settings > Account Settings > Voice Purchasing)," an Amazon spokesperson told the outlet.
Research published in the "International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction" on ScienceDirect shows that smart devices make it significantly easier for young children to access information. Because these assistants respond to spoken commands, kids don’t need typing or spelling skills, making them more accessible than traditional search methods. The same research also observes that while children are comfortable asking these devices for information, they tend to view them as less credible or reliable than human adults, especially when it comes to sensitive or learning-related questions.
Online users took to the comments to leave hilarious remarks on the video. @resilientlife_0423 exclaimed, "This is hilarious!" Meanwhile, @c_j.teeman joked, "That baby girl's math was mathing!" "Alexa needs to change her name and only answer to your voice," wrote @miz_spentyouth62. For Kaylyn, the incident became a family story that still draws laughter, but it also served as a reminder that children must use such devices under supervision. Options like voice-code confirmations, purchase locks, or disabling buying permissions altogether are increasingly becoming essential.
For more such content, you can follow @kaylynrathel on Instagram.
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