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When you children are nearing the age of maturity, it is important to keep in mind that they will probably be seeking financial independence. This means credit cards. This is an important part of life and perhaps an opportunity to teach your children a lesson in good spending habits at a very important age. When they are in their teens, more often than not the children know nothing about good spending or how to save. Credit cards, on the other hand, are a completely different story. With these cards the children will more than likely not know how to use the cards wisely nor keep up with the payments.
You can start by giving your child a card. Then require your children to pay back the balance monthly so that they will know what it is like doing so and the important part of doing it. If they fail in doing so, then simply lower their given balance the next month. You could also impost fees and penalties to teach them a lesson. By teaching your child good credit habits you will not only be helping them out before they enter a very important part of life, you will be helping them out for the rest of their lives. They will have a working knowledge of a credit card, how it works, and whether or not if they even need or want to use a credit card in college or after. The most common cause of bad credit is no working knowledge of the system to begin with.
