You might have heard the recent stories of teenagers going on wild Amazon shopping sprees and blowing all of their parents' money. Teens and students have always been a large demographic with many Amazon Prime perks designed for students.

The world's largest shopping site has found a middle ground that now allows teenagers to have that same freedom to shop, but without any of the risk for parents. It's called Amazon for Teens.

Teens can log into amazon.com using their own accounts to buy items and stream videos. Their parents (who must be Prime members) retain control as they can approve their purchases, either by text message confirmations or set spending limits per order.

Here's how the four-step process works:

  1. Teens search and place orders on their own from their independent Amazon account. They can include notes to describe the reasons for the purchase.
  2. Parents receive all the order details like items, price, and shipment via text or email.
  3. Parents can reply with a simple "Y" in the text message or email. They can also set pre-defined spending limits which auto-approves all shopping. They can also switch off this feature completely.
  4. Both parents and teens get the information on estimated shipping/delivery dates.

The four steps give teens between the ages of 13 to 17 more control over their shopping wishlists. All items ordered by the teens (including Prime videos) get screened by parents. And it gives Amazon direct access to the burgeoning demographic of teenagers.

The Amazon for Teens feature is similar to Amazon Households. It is the Amazon feature that allows customers to share their Prime benefits with other family members, create shared digital libraries for the family, and share credit and debit cards.

Do you have a teen in your house near the computer? What do they think about Amazon for Teens?