# Can I give my 16 year old a credit card?



## Bubbly Scot (9 Jun 2008)

My 16 year old is at an age where I am constantly handing over money. Our bank won't give her a laser card on her bank account but while filling in a credit card application for myself I wondered if I could stick her on as an additional card holder?


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## NicolaM (9 Jun 2008)

Hi
Why not ring your visa company and ask?
Do you think that's a good idea though if they would allow her to be an additional card holder? Might start up bad habits early....Especially since the responsibility for repayments would be squarely on your shoulders, not on hers..
Nicola


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## ClubMan (9 Jun 2008)

Could she not get a part time job and pay her own way in part or full? Personally I think you'd be mad to give her access to credit at her age.


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## Bubbly Scot (9 Jun 2008)

NicolaM said:


> Hi
> Why not ring your visa company and ask?


 
It's quicker to post here than listen to the automated service of the bank 



> Could she not get a part time job and pay her own way in part or full? Personally I think you'd be mad to give her access to credit at her age.


 
We have a sort of system, she pays for what she wants, we pay for what she needs. So if I decide she needs school shoes I either have to take her shopping (nightmare!) or send her to look, she comes back with the price, I give her the money or go and pick them up.

Definatly agree though.....a job would be the way to go!!

Added bit: The bank said she can have it......I, on the other hand....am rethinking.


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## csirl (9 Jun 2008)

Banks arent allowed to give credit to underage customers, so credit card application may be turned down for the same reason that laser card was rejected. Technically speaking, laser cards are regarded as "credit".


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## Bubbly Scot (9 Jun 2008)

csirl said:


> Banks arent allowed to give credit to underage customers, so credit card application may be turned down for the same reason that laser card was rejected. Technically speaking, laser cards are regarded as "credit".


 
Bank have said they can give her a credit card as an "additional cardholder" on my account but she couldn't get one in her own right.  They would issue a card to her from the age of 16 under those circumstances.


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## Flax (9 Jun 2008)

Getting your child into the habit of living off credit sounds like a terrible idea.


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## DrMoriarty (9 Jun 2008)

My 16-year-old has a fee-free secondary student account, which gives her a cashcard without a Laser facility (and therefore no govt. duty or other cost), usable only in _Bank of Ireland_ ATMs and only up to the amount of her credit balance. I can same-day-transfer money to it online from my own BoI account, and when her funds are gone, they're gone.

I wholeheartedly advise against making her a cardholder on your own credit card account ...but it's up to you.


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## phil1147 (9 Jun 2008)

For anyone to even contemplate giving their 16 year old daughter a credit card needs to evaluate the need for a labotomy.

How about not giving her a credit card and not going shopping with her. What you could do is give her cash if she needs shoes then she can go to the shops pick the ones she wants and goes home and gives you the change.

That i think is the right approach but maybe im wrong. Children need to respect money and realise what its like to not get things that they want all the time. Im not saying thats the case for you and your daughter but its happening all too often these days.


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## Dee101 (9 Jun 2008)

Holy mother of god. I'm sorry but I cannot believe you are considering giving your 16 year old a credit card. 
No wonder there are so many spoiled brats around these days! 
I'm not saying your kid is one of these but you are not teaching her any values here by giving her a credit card. 
Let her get a part time job and earn her money like most kids of her age do!


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## Bubbly Scot (9 Jun 2008)

Query has been answered, decision has been made. Thanks to all for sharing your opinions.


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## ClubMan (9 Jun 2008)

phil1147 said:


> For anyone to even contemplate giving their 16 year old daughter a credit card needs to evaluate the need for a labotomy.


Removal of their labs?


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## amtc (9 Jun 2008)

Might not be popular but for my 18th my mam gave me credit card on her account. She had quite restrictive job and couldn't always get into town (before suburban shopping centres) and I was going through town to college so would pick up things she needed. If I bought something for myself I paid for it. Was quite good at teaching me budgeting etc. 
Laugh now is she has one on my account!


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## Mpsox (10 Jun 2008)

There is a company called PerfectCard, which issues prepaid Mastercards. They work a bit like a gift voucher card, you decide on the limit and the card is loaded with that value. Once it's used up, it's used up

We've used them at work for small token gifts etc and they work pretty well.


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## Bronte (10 Jun 2008)

Not all 16 year olds are irresponsible.  If you trust your 16 year old there is nothing wrong with giving her the card, she will in any case at some stage have to learn to manage one.  The problem with credit cards is that a very large percentage of people do not manage them properly and they are a lot older than 16.


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## sparkeee (10 Jun 2008)

why are you constantly handing over money,learn to say no,tough love is sometimes the best love.


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## ClubMan (10 Jun 2008)

sparkeee said:


> why are you constantly handing over money,learn to say no,tough love is sometimes the best love.


To be fair the original poster did explain matters in a bit more detail above:


Bubbly Scot said:


> We have a sort of system, she pays for what she wants, we pay for what she needs. So if I decide she needs school shoes I either have to take her shopping (nightmare!) or send her to look, she comes back with the price, I give her the money or go and pick them up.





Bubbly Scot said:


> Query has been answered, decision has been made. Thanks to all for sharing your opinions.


Are you at liberty to say what the decision was?


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## Caveat (10 Jun 2008)

clubman said:


> removal Of Their Labs?


 
ouch


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## television (10 Jun 2008)

Flax said:


> Getting your child into the habit of living off credit sounds like a terrible idea.


 
Aggree


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## Bubbly Scot (10 Jun 2008)

ClubMan said:


> Are you at liberty to say what the decision was?


 
I am, but I decided not to as I didn't want to spark another outburst of opinions. Which would lead to me feeling obliged to explain my decision and justify myself because I feel that my daughter is actually quite responsible with her money, and mine. While she might in the future surprise me by incuring the wrath and interest charges of the major banks....she would never, EVER risk the same from her daddy.

Which I guess answers your question, doesn't it? 

And just on an aside, I don't think that giving her a card is giving her the idea of living off credit. I'm not exactly going to give her a card and let her lose with it. The plan is to give her the card when we would normally give her cash to pay for preagreed items and as she travels a bit, she can book accomodation etc. I'd give her a laser card off my account if the bank would let me but they won't


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## lightup (10 Jun 2008)

Just to let you know, I had a credit card on my dad's account when I was 17.  

It was used when I was doing grocery shopping for my parents or bringing my younger siblings clothes shopping.  If I ever used it myself (to book something online etc) I lodged the money to my dad's account in advance of the due date.  

I think it taught me quite a lot about budgeting and responsibility.


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## Bubbly Scot (10 Jun 2008)

lightup said:


> Just to let you know, I had a credit card on my dad's account when I was 17.
> 
> I think it taught me quite a lot about budgeting and responsibility.


 
That's one of the things we're going for. If she's going to make "mistakes" I'd rather she did it under our watchful gaze than risk her messing up her credit rating in the future. Although with this one, I doubt that would happen.


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## truthseeker (10 Jun 2008)

One thing I noticed among my own friends is that those who had to work part time from an early age and didnt receive money from their parents had much more respect for money when they eventually did have to stand on their own two feet than those who were given money by their parents easily. I had one friend in college who never had to work in her teens/early 20s, was given an allowance, plus was bought anything she wanted in terms of clothes, books, cds etc.... She herself said that when she moved out of home and got a job and had to budget for herself she was a mess for a number of years and allowed herself to max out credit cards because she knew that her parents would bail her out of trouble if it came to it.


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## ClubMan (10 Jun 2008)

truthseeker said:


> she was a mess for a number of years and allowed herself to max out credit cards because she knew that her parents would bail her out of trouble if it came to it.


Yeah - in addiction terms it's called codependency and enabling...


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## phil1147 (13 Jun 2008)

Bubbly Scot said:


> Although with this one, I doubt that would happen.


 
Sorry but everyone says that about their own children. Everyone was 16 at one stage and mostly everyone will agree that when they were 16 they were not responsible. They obviously thought they were at the time but when they look back theres always drastic mistakes made and big lessons learned.

And yes ppl will respond saying when they were 16 they were very responsible etc but realistically they were very immature and could not make decisions and depended on Daddy.


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## Bronte (13 Jun 2008)

I was given an associate card by my dad when I was 17 and I never used it unless he said I could. It was for any emergency that might arise when I worked abroad and I would have to pay him back whatever I spent on it.  He wouldn't give one to my sibling though and she was a dab hand at forging his signature on his cheques - we found out years later and he never noticed.   So yes Phil1147 some of us were responsible at that age.  I think the OP is doing the right thing trusting her child, she knows her better than anyone.


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## so-crates (13 Jun 2008)

Again with Bronte, I was a relatively responsible teenager when it came to cash where my sister had to learn the hard way what credit costs. The difference was evident from a much earlier age in our respective attitudes to money. At sixteen you are old enough to comprehend this and even to manage a budget, whether you understand it fully is dependent on the attitudes you have imbibed (we had the same exposure in terms of early monetary education but what we took from it differed quite considerably). Having said that, you learn to value your money far more if you have to earn it first. 
Inconvenience isn't really enough of a reason to give a child a credit card but if you find it works best for you, lay out the rules very strictly in terms of who pays the bill and what spending behaviour is acceptable. Monitor the card activity regularly, preferably with the teenager present so that it isn't done behind their back and they can immediately account for anomalous spending (less worrying for you and less combatitive all around). And put clear penalties in place for any infringement of the rules, even to writing them down and getting the two of you to sign it as a contract. If they play by the rules it would be a good learning experience for them. If they don't it may be an even better learning experience if the penalties are well applied.
You are clearly sensible enough to do this but no harm in saying it


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## Bubbly Scot (13 Jun 2008)

Just to update. She is getting a card, with stringent guidelines and yes, I trust her. I understand there are irresponsible 16 year olds out there but I can point out a few irresponsible 56 year olds too! I have faith in the way I have brought up my kids and even more faith in them...or in this instance, her. 

So we discussed it with her, explained what we expected, what was allowed (every spend on it has to be prearranged), she took it all on board.

Next day in a quiet moment I asked how she felt about getting the credit card, she said it was "cool" and "useful" and then after a pause.......

"I don't really get why people use credit cards, it seems like a stupid way of handling money, like you have money you don't really have!"

well she shut ME up! I almost got out my statements showing we clear them every month!


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## so-crates (13 Jun 2008)

Bubbly Scot said:


> "I don't really get why people use credit cards, it seems like a stupid way of handling money, like you have money you don't really have!"


 
Good for her! I'll never forget someone referring to spending on a credit card as like having free money, I'd just got my first credit card and was more concerned about ensuring that I wouldn't spend more than I could repay, it was a bit of a jawdrop for me!


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