An increasingly common trend is for parents to get credit cards for their teenagers. But the big question is, “Is this a good idea?”

Maybe. It really depends on your goals, expectations and how your teen will use it.

The teen years are filled with pressure. It may well be harder for a teen to control his or her spending than it would be for you. Just think of all the things they ask you for. Can you trust them to not go on an uncontrolled spending splurge with a credit card?

I absolutely wouldn’t recommend giving a teen who isn’t holding down a steady job a credit card. How are they to pay it back? You do not want to do this for them, as you’ll be setting them up for poor spending habits later in life.

If you give your teen a credit card, it should be accompanied by a long talk about what you expect to happen. What are the rules for using the credit card? Is it for emergencies only? Are you going to remind them about payments or do they need to remember on their own?

Teens are lucky in that there are many credit cards for students out there. They may or may not need you to cosign. And certainly having a credit card can teach them early on how to be responsible for one. The only problem is that if they mess it up, they get a poor credit rating right out of the gate. It’s quite a risk.

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