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No one should have a credit card until they have the job and financial background on their own to insure payment. Hey, some teens do have both a working record and decent credit ratings, and if they qualify without an adult co-signer, let's hope they are wiser than most adults today in using these cards.

My late husband and I did co-sign a credit card for a daughter when she was 18 and went far away to college. It didn't turn out horribly because it was a very low amount card, but it really was hard for her to pay the total off (and yes, we made her earn the money and pay it herself) when it was misused. We reimbursed gas money for her to come home (thankfully, much lower than today's gas prices) and for any actual car break-down expenses. Which was why we co-sponsored the card. Like most kids...and far too many adults...she overused the card at first, and had to spend most of her student-job earnings on debt repayment. She had the student job just so she would have extra money to have fun with, but of course that "easy" credit card "cash" was too tempting to resist - until she had to pay it back with interest. We also had monthly accountings with her once we learned the credit card had been maxed. And hey, this is the sort of things parents should demand when their name and credit also is on the line.

I do think a finance class of some sort should be mandatory in high school. Our three kids did know how to at least balance check books, but I'd guess that half of high school graduates do not-and ours didn't learn it in school. They learned it because we helped them set up checking accounts, and then were heavy parents if they were stupid and abused them. Come on; it's not that hard to add and subtract; they knew how to do it. We just didn't tolerate it if they did not follow through and balance their own cash.

I'd like to say that all parents should teach their kids, not schools, but these same kids usually have bankrupt or near-bankrupt parents. So let's push for the mandatory finance course in schools. It will save everyone a lot of heartache and expense!

Let your kids earn the right to have credit cards. Once they've done that, they will hopefully have sense enough to use them properly.

Learn more about this author, Margaret Shauers.
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