I just read an interesting article on CBS Money Watch Blog by feature writer Stacey Bradford entitled, Credit Cards with Training Wheels for Teenagers.
Before my oldest daughter hit her teens, I would have been one of those parents who said, “No way will I give my child a credit card!” But now that she is a teen and has shown herself to be responsible and after reading Stacey’s article, I am inclined to think that I would consider giving her a credit card. Can’t believe the extra cost, but understand the reasoning behind it. I would much rather her learn to use a credit card wisely under my watchful eye than for her to learn the hard way. I never had a credit card until I was married, but due to watching the mistakes of others I understood the importance of living within my means and not overcharging, which thankfully is/was the way my husband uses credit cards too. We have always tried to supplement financial education into our children’s school curriculum and I think a credit card with training wheels could be another important aspect to incorporate into our homeschool.
In the future, I could see us getting credit cards for our daughters so they could help with our family shopping when they went out on their own errands saving us multiple trips out. This would not only give our children a chance to continue to practice being responsible, but I have no doubt that it would give them an extra boost of confidence knowing that we trusted them. And if we have done our job right, they won’t want to do anything that would break that trust.
What do you think about giving your kids a credit card?
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