Should a teenager have a credit card?

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2003
Should a teenager have a credit card?
13
Tue, 03-09-2010 - 11:26am

Below is an article I found on Dave Ramsey's site.

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Avatar for cl_beckymk
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Wed, 03-10-2010 - 7:40am

I'm torn on this...I think I'm going in the "it depends" camp.


I was 16ish when I got my first credit card.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-01-2008
Wed, 03-10-2010 - 12:53pm

No, credit cards are dangerous.

Norma


"Patience is the best remedy for every trouble"- Plautus


iVillage Member
Registered: 02-04-2004
Wed, 03-10-2010 - 11:32pm

I'm for anything that teaches kids how to do something while they are still living at home and under my supervision, so I'm also in the prepaid debit card camp. They have something called the "Allow Card" or something like that. You preload it with their "allowance" and they can use it as a credit/debit card. Teens don't need a credit card for purchases or hotels or rental cars, but they need to learn how to deal with credit and budgets.

The scary thing now is all these online purchases that we were never tempted with as teens. When I was a teenager no one I knew had a credit card, but then, no one had a cell phone or a lap top either! Times have changed so we have to teach them responsibility while they are still living at home.

I will also tell my kids that if they get deep in debt over their heads, they will have to climb themselves out because I do not do "bailouts".

Just my opinion. My oldest is going to be a teenager in a few short months, so I am entering new territory here.

Kathryn

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