Monday, 09 February 2009
-
Should Parents Give Their Teenage Kids Credit Cards?
This weekend, I was going through my (junk) mail (because it is always junk mail now). I got something from Discover, so I thought I should open it. I really should have read the whole thing, I probably would have gotten a good laugh from it.
Here are the words I read before throwing it away. "Give your teenager a credit card that you completely control...only $5 per month."
First, in order for me to have a teenager, I would have had to have given birth at the latest by the time I was 10. Thank God that didnt happen! So who am I supposed to give this credit card to? Perhaps you should have saved yourself a cents and not sent me this junk mail, Discover!
Second, really!?! You want me to give a credit card to a teenager? Not only do you want me to give them a credit card, you want me to be completely responsible for anything they charge on it.
Of course I saw that 'I' could set the spending limits. 'I' could completely control what they do with it. But at the end of the day, I would still have to be the one paying the bill! That is a great thing to teach a teenager - here, buy what ever you want, but you can only spend $X. I will pay it for you.
Third, this "privilege" would only cost me $5 per month. So not only do you want me to pay for things my teenager doesnt need, you want me to pay you an extra $60 per year, just so I can give my teenager a credit card? I don't have any credit cards with annual fees of my own! Why would I do that for a teenager!?!
Am I the only one who thinks this is crazy? Do people actually do this? Would you ever give your teenager a credit card?
-
recommend
- recs 1
-
share
-
email
- sent 0
Related Posts
Post a Comment
- Back to dollarish's Dollarish Site!
- Note: your comment will appear in dollarish's local time zone: GMT -05:00 (Eastern Standard - US, Canada)
Comments (86)
I think kids should get a credit card when they start working or definitely when they get to college. It's a good way to start teaching financial responsibility and, obviously, to build credit.
I think 18 is a fine time to get a credit card. Younger teenagers don't need it, and it's far too easy to splurge when you've got a plastic card symbolic of borrowed money in addition to debit and such. At a younger age, I would want my kids to be able to manage their own money before I let them borrow a bank's.
My dad didn't want to co-sign for me to get a credit card at 16. Until I turned 18 and finally applied for a card two months later, I had time to mule over what I did and didn't need.
I think that's stupid too.
I think they can get a credit card as soon as they get a job to pay the bill.
I think it depends more on the maturity level of the person and less on the age. There are adults out there who aren't responsible with their credit cards, too. (That said, I do realize that you aren't responsible for those adults.)
My parents put me under one of their credit cards when I turned sixteen, knowing that I wasn't going to go do stupid things with it, or frivolously spend a lot of money. (I had the same limit they did, since it was their account.) Hrm. Oh, and I also paid back whatever I spent with money I got through gifts and such.
I still don't have a credit card of my own, though. Something about not having enough credit, so the company denied me. Now I'm wondering how I'm supposed to have credit if I've never had a credit card of my own... Hah.
i didnt read the whole thing but it depends. if the kid is responsible and you know they wont abuse the card than its ok, it would be best if they had a job than they could pay for it themselves (true meaning of responsibility). i was never given a card, i was told to get a card by my mom cause she wants me to establish credit and i did just that.
It depends on the teenager. I had my frist credit card (co-account with my mother) when I was 16, but I was responsible enough to handle it. The reason I got it was mostly for emergencies, or picking things up from the grocery store for my dad when he was working. Errands like that.
My sister and brother didn't get credit cards as early as me, and one of the two had some trouble with the responsibility, buying too much crap she didn't need.
So really, I think it depends on the person, and it is a good way to build credit. Personally, if they can handle it, I think they should get a card and a cell phone when they get their first job, if for no other reason than in case of emergencies.
This is a good idea and it teaches kids how to be responsible. My parents gave me my first credit card when I was 15, and it was mainly to pay for gas and my cell phone bill.
I will say this:
HELL NO!
I'm almost 25. I don't have my own credit card because I don't think it is necessary for me to have one right now. And I have NEVER expected my parents to give me a credit card, be it in my teens or in my twenties. And I've just found out that a friend of mine who is 27 tears old does NOT have a credit card, but a debit card. Teens with credit cards?! PAMPERED AND SPOILT!
There's two aspects here. Maturity and credit.
Some teenagers are mature enough to handle a credit card, some are not even mature enough to handle cash (where the limits are very clearly defined). It varies from person to person
The second is credit. I, personally, sit in the "credit is for emergencies only" camp (I have used credit twice ever). It is important to realize that credit is indeed a high interest loan.
The thing I find most noteworthy in the OP is the parent paying for the card. From how I interpreted the ad, it seems that the parent would set the limits but the kid would pay for the card (a fine way to start the kid into financial responsibility while reducing the risk of them destroying their credit). Giving someone a card and not having them pay the bill is just the same as handing them free money. Not a good idea. However, if it is how I interpret it, it isn't a bad idea, though it's not necessarily great either.
My parents let me use one of theirs, actually (not working, seeing as I'm busy trying to swing some higher grades this semester, at least 3.5 GPA's hopefully), but it's not like I NEED it. The basic idea is if I need textbooks at the beginning of a semester or if I have to fill the car up with gas. Past that, I don't use it too much - maybe I'll grab a fast food meal from time to time, or a candy bar, but if they were to need it back at any moment, okay.
Aside from the baseline stuff, I try not to be too expensive on them. Clothes? I have plenty that I'm fine with. Games? I'll just download 'em free or burn my own. I'm happy with the things I already have from like, 3-4 years back (phone, MP3 player, game system), and they've let me use the card for 2 years now, so as long as it's used responsibly, okay. I'm not gonna go out and buy expensive clothes, games, shampoo's, conditioners, whatever, and say "BUT I'M JUST 19, I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO PAY FOR MY OWN STUFF, WAH WAH" - if I want, or NEED those expensive things, I'll get a job. But that's just not possible for me at the moment, so I cut the expenses and realize I don't need all that stuff.
If, however, kids with credit cards are doing just that, and going over board by buying expensive games, clothes, makeup, perfumes, bags, toys and whatever, without consulting their parents first (and throwing fits if they *gasp* say no), THEN that's a problem and the cards should be held off on till they're more responsible.
No No No. if anything get them a debit card with emergency cash in it, that way they won't overspend it. I'm a teenager, lol though i'm 18, and almost 19. I don't get an allowance but I work aside from going to university fulltime and No credit cards! I live fine :] without it. Oh i should add, I use to be a really careful spender but i guess growing up, made me kind of want to shop a bit more so another reason to not give ur kid a credit card.
x
Kids don't need credit cards or debit cards. They'll just end racking up price tags and interest and then the parents are the ones footing the bill and all the debts the kid has racked up.
Of course credit companies will encourage you and your family to use more credit. It's their business to try to get people to do that...so yeah, while it seems outrageous, it's not unexpected.
I think teenagers getting their own credit cards is okay, as long as they are taught to use it responsibly and get the card taken away if they don't. Better yet, once the teenager turns 18 and/or gets a part-time job, have them get their own credit card (i.e. in their own name) to teach them about responsible spending and getting a good credit rating. Have the teenager foot the bill.
There are other ways of building credit so I think that we should start teaching kids how to live without credit cards. When the whole credit cards are cool thing came out, LOOK WHAT HAPPENED. I think it would be a great way to teach kids about money if they could only use what they had, and this way they could start getting smarter about money and start saving.. I myself didn't get a credit card until I signed up for a checking/savings with Wells Fargo but even now, I don't use it. (I should really cancel it...)
there are other ways of building credit than a credit card. all they do is amass huge debts. fuck that, i will never get a credit card, nor will i allow my child to do so either.
Children need credit cards to pay for essentials. Like phones to talk to their little friends about important stuff that can be posted on MySpace. Children also need make-up, thongs, athletic shoes that cost more than $50 a pair, and video games as a reward for not doing anything in school all day, and not really doing anything at home.
(in case you didn't notice, I am being sarcastical)
no. absolutely not! WE'RE OUT-OF-CONTROLLED FREAKS ! WHAT WE DO WHEN WE'RE NOT IN SCHOOL? THE MALL! LOL :P
I too don't think teens should have credit cards.. it's already fine as is.. 18 is a good age. Or at least when you get to college, that's when you could need one. I don't see the need for some teeny bopper to have one, when all they're gonna do is use it to buy some crappy trend that's gonna die out in 3 months.
Well, the maturity level ranges quite significantly between 13 and 18. I'd consider giving an 18 year-old a credit card, because he/she will need it in college, but it really depends on whether or not they're likely to blow up the account. Haha.
I would encourage prepaid credit cards(visa gift cards, etc).. so I can buy uh, school related items that could be cheaper online (:
I think it depends on the teenager.
My mom opened a savings account for me at age 13 and gave me a credit card only a year later along with a cell phone. I have never missed a bill, nor even come close to not having enough money for it. I know it seems young, but my mom wanted me to have it in case of emergencies. I also think that having a bank account at a young age taught me to save my money rather then spend it every chance I got. I'm 18 now and I have a savings account and checking account along with a credit card and checking card along with a checkbook of my own. I like being financially independent of my parents and being able to move and track my money myself. My mom also loves that I can go grocery shopping or pick something up for her, put it on my card, and she can just pay me back, it makes it easier for both of us.
I definitely think some teenagers shouldn't have a credit card because they can't handle it. It all depends on if the parents think their child can handle the responsibility. I do think, however, that once you're driving on your own, you should have a credit card, in case of emergencies.
I think it's ridiculous to let anyone under 18 have a credit card, and equally as ridiculous to be over 18 and have a credit card but not a job. Unless you can be financially responsible for your own bills, you shouldn't have one.
When I was younger (read: somewhere around 4 or 5), I was surprised to learn from my father that ATMs did not dispense free money, but just the money that was put into the bank. Unfortunately, with the way a lot of my friends from back in high school acted, this was a life lesson yet to be learned.
I wouldn't even give a teenage a debit card. I didn't even have an ATM card until I was 17. If I wanted money, I had to wait until one of my parents could take me out to the bank, and the fact that I didn't have unlimited access to my money was a good thing. It taught me that I didn't need to buy everything that caught my eye at a certain moment.
Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be a lesson that the vast majority of middle and high school aged kids are learning.
My parents have given me a debit card...I drive, and I need gas. They believe that, as my parents, they supply for me until I'm old enough to also juggle a job. They understand how difficult IB classes are, and that my concentration needs to be there, not on a job I won't keep after high school.
FURTHERMORE, this means they don't have to give me money on the spot, anymore. No more messing with bills and change. All they expect back is that I do my share around the house and get a job for the summer, maybe.
my teen sister doesn't have a credit card, the little bitch just takes my mom's -__- her reasoning is that since it's not her money it's okay to spend it. just goes to show you can't trust kids with credit cards until they understand what financial responsibility is
@Sage_and_Citrus@xanga - my parents felt that same way... IB classes were difficult enough, I shouldn't worry about a job on top of it (even though I ended up getting a job for a few hours a week anyway). They helped me with the little things and told me I had to build up my money over the summer and other breaks. They feel the same way about my first two years of college now, I should worry about my intense school work rather then a job, so they help me a little bit.