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It isn't easy to stand up and say yes to an issue that can very well be precieved in a different manner then I intend. There is often an image that goes along with teens who have credit cards and it isn't a good one. However, that image isn't what I had in mind when I said yes the question, "Should teens have credit cards". In order to understand completely you must read through my entire reasoning.

What I Am Not Saying Yes To.
I am not saying yes to a kid with a plastic addiction. I am not saying yes to the kid who uses his or her parent's credit cards on a whim and charging it all to their parents bills. I am not saying yes for the emergency card that the teen then decides to use to buy a new dress, shoes, and make over for a party or dance because it is an "emergency". All these things hurt a teen and don't prepare them for the future and for dealing with their own credit.

Learning to Deal With Credit.
Often teens go out into the real world and get hit up by credit cards all over the place as they enter college. Many get the card thinking they will save it for an emergency or they will use it to build credit. Then something comes up and it becomes easier and easier to use the plastic card and pay the ten or fifteen dollar minimum, ignoring the fact that the high interest rates send the card balance through the roof. After all, they are building credit. Many of these same college kids find that they can't pay the bill at some point, and instead of building good credit, they find that they have messed their credit up. However, if trained early and properly, they will be ready to deal with credit in a responsible and very well managed way. This can make a difference between those who build credit during college and their early adult years and those who ruin their credit in those years, having to wait a long time to try again.

Building Credit.
Credit is often a mysterious thing. However, there are times when we need it and some of us find that we don't have it. This is very true of young people who haven't built that credit up. A credit card when you are a teenager can help as long as you are taught how to use it responsibly. Some of these cards can be gotten as young as 16 if the user has a job. Others require parental co-signing. This is fine, as long as the credit card holder is being taught how to use it and when. This is important because just as a credit card can be used to build credit, it can also destroy credit just as easily.

Emergencies.
While many teens

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