Giving A Teen Valuable Life Lessons On Debt With Credit Cards

By Chris Channing

Many people will notice that more and more teenagers are getting credit cards even when they are not legally able to own one. This is possible because many parents often attach a teen to their account to allow for authorized charges to be made by the signing teen responsible. This may have varying degrees of severity, especially when your trust in your teenager is lacking.

Many people see credit cards as a great responsibility and a way to build character towards making the right choices for spending. Many teens will see the card as free money and not quite understand the importance of having enough money to repay the money borrowed right away. This can really make some parents think that their teens are very irresponsible and make some teens really dislike their parents for not letting them have a card to use at school or the mall.

You might think that it is a bad idea to give a teenager a credit card, especially if you do not have funds to cover any mistakes they might make. Do consider this though, have you made a mistake because you took out a credit card application and were accepted then having a shopping spree only to fins out a few minutes later that you went over the limit? If yes then you could tell them about your experience and how you do not want them to go through that.

Many credit card companies will allow for you to attach another person to the account under any name at no extra cost. This can be very risky, especially if you give the rights for a non mature person to make mature purchases upwards of large quantities of money. There can be much tension between those teens and their parents once such a mistake has occurred.

You can have extended conversations with your teens to make sure they understand the importance of their actions when using the card. If you feel that you should punish them for making a mistake, let them know beforehand so they can think about what they do before they end up doing it.

You can actually help the young person build up a healthy credit when giving them access to a credit card. This also helps them to build healthy spending habits while learning to manage their own accounts. Say that you want to give them an allowance to spend with the card, but they have to repay the amount with their work. That is valuable experience that can be used to higher their knowledge of the adult world.

Closing Comments

You can let a teenager grow up and experience responsibility by giving them chances, or you can let them try on their own and get into far worse debt and credit situations. Why not guide those who need guidance and give them a reason to like you because you are the "cool" parent?

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