Debit cards for teens

[AP1209]

My daughter is going to a baseball game tonight with church youth group and I went to the ATM today to get her some cash for snacks and it got me to thinking about getting her a debit card. She's 14. Just looking for general advice on when and how people handle it.

 

[CdnCarrie]

My kids both got their own account when they turned 12 (chequing and savings). They use the debit card all the time. I e-transfer them their allowance.

Does you daughter not have a bank account? Wouldn't her bank card be her debit card?

 

[AP1209]

My kids both got their own account when they turned 12 (chequing and savings). They use the debit card all the time. I e-transfer them their allowance.

Does you daughter not have a bank account? Wouldn't her bank card be her debit card?

She does not have her own account. It's probably time for us to do it. It just popped in my head today.

 

[china mom]

My son has had a debit card, linked to his checking account (but with my name on the card) since he was 9...yes, 9 and it was the most brilliant thing I ever did.

Money was a magical thing before then. I would never have cash on allowance day so I kept a mental tally of what I owed him. He would never have his allowance on him when at the store so we would "deduct it from his allowance" but we know how good we were at that. So, money became this never ending thing and we never knew who was up or down. He felt he just had to buy something every time we went out.

Once I opened his checking account and got him his own debit card, money became real. I schedule the kids direct deposit allowance so I never forget to pay them. When he wants to buy something, we check his balance. Suddenly, money was a real thing and he never wanted to buy everything in the store anymore. He became very conscious of his money.

He is now 16 and saving for a car (has a job). When we go out of town and leave him alone, he has a debit card to order pizza. He has the card linked to his xbox account and such.

I am not sure the age to get him his own card in his name but at age 9 it had to be in my name. I will have to get around to changing that one day.

My daughter (age 14), on the other hand does not have a debit card yet because a) she doesn't spend money and b) isn't really out in the world yet and c) I just have not gotten around to it yet.

 

[verleniahall]

I had my own bank account starting at 5PM - I went with my mom to make depsoits and withdraws and had to balance my checkbook register. (I was saving up for an Amiercan Girl Doll) - I had a debit card in middle school and my parents would write me a check for my allowence and I did deposits, etc... at the bank

 

[AP1209]

My son has had a debit card, linked to his checking account (but with my name on the card) since he was 9...yes, 9 and it was the most brilliant thing I ever did.

Money was a magical thing before then. I would never have cash on allowance day so I kept a mental tally of what I owed him. He would never have his allowance on him when at the store so we would "deduct it from his allowance" but we know how good we were at that. So, money became this never ending thing and we never knew who was up or down. He felt he just had to buy something every time we went out.

Once I opened his checking account and got him his own debit card, money became real. I schedule the kids direct deposit allowance so I never forget to pay them. When he wants to buy something, we check his balance. Suddenly, money was a real thing and he never wanted to buy everything in the store anymore. He became very conscious of his money.

He is now 16 and saving for a car (has a job). When we go out of town and leave him alone, he has a debit card to order pizza. He has the card linked to his xbox account and such.

I am not sure the age to get him his own card in his name but at age 9 it had to be in my name. I will have to get around to changing that one day.

My daughter (age 14), on the other hand does not have a debit card yet because a) she doesn't spend money and b) isn't really out in the world yet and c) I just have not gotten around to it yet.

My daughter is more like your daughter for sure!

 

[mco65]

my daughter does not have a debit card or checking account but i do give her my debit all the time to use.. she knows my pin and has yet to have an issue. 99% of the time i am close by anyway if she were to be questioned...

 

[Moliphino]

I don't think I got my own debit card (and low limit credit card) until just before college. I had an account, but my dad handled all deposits (it was a credit union through his work, so there was a branch right in his building but none close to home).

 

[LynnTH]

My kids have been Authorized Users on 1 of my credit cards since they were in early teens. They have never used the card without permission and it is good to know they have something with them at all times. It also has helped establish their credit now that they are 18 and 20. (They did also have Debit Cards/ Bank Accounts that they could access and I could go online and access and transfer money to them if needed).

 

[mjkacmom]

I believe they must be 18 to have a checking account in their own name. Dd18 just opened an account at a bank with a large presence at the college she is attending next year, and will close out her savings account with my name on it.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Here kids could open chequing account at age 12. Before age 12 it had to be joint with an adult.

 

[tvguy]

Have you considered a Visa BUXX card? https://usa.visa.com/pay-with-visa/cards/prepaid-cards/buxx-card.html

I bank with Wells Fargo and their minimum age for a checking account is 13.

https://www.wellsfargo.com/checking/teen/

 

[wenrob]

I believe they must be 18 to have a checking account in their own name. Dd18 just opened an account at a bank with a large presence at the college she is attending next year, and will close out her savings account with my name on it.

My DD opened a checking account at *16 but had to have my name on it.
*edit: Just asked DD and she said she was 14 and that she had to be 16 to get it without my name.

I did as others have said and just had her allowance auto deposited into her account. I kept a $100 cushion in there that she would use to pick things up for me but that she never touched herself.

I need to do something similar for the other two because I also do the “I owe you, you owe me” thing with their allowance. Poor kids rarely have cash in hand. They’re only 13 though so not sure if I can yet. A girlfriend of mine has Greenlight for her 14 year old.
https://www.greenlightcard.com/

 

[kdonnel]

Instead of getting them a debit card a much better option is to add them as an authorized user of one of your credit cards.

That helps them build a credit history and does not expose a checking account to debit card fraud. No one should have a debit card.

 

[mjkacmom]

Hmm, I’ve had my kids checking accounts at different banks, and all required a parent on the account until 18. https://www.thebalance.com/bank-accounts-for-people-under-18-315365

 

[kimblebee]

Instead of getting them a debit card a much better option is to add them as an authorized user of one of your credit cards.

That helps them build a credit history and does not expose a checking account to debit card fraud. No one should have a debit card.

Why do you say no one should have a debit card? My life is 100% debit card. If I didn't have one and needed money outside of regular banking hours do you suggest I’m just sol?

 

[AP1209]

Have you considered a Visa BUXX card? https://usa.visa.com/pay-with-visa/cards/prepaid-cards/buxx-card.html

I bank with Wells Fargo and their minimum age for a checking account is 13.

https://www.wellsfargo.com/checking/teen/

This seems like something that would work well.

 

[mnrose]

I created bank accounts for my kids when they were in 9th grade. I gave them each an "allowance" representing what I would spend on clothing, school expenses, lunch money, and "fun" money for them in a month. It got automatically deposited into their accounts at the beginning of the month. From that day on, other than gifts for birthdays and holidays, I spent nothing on them. Want some new shoes? Go and buy them and spend your money. Want to buy a t-shirt? Have at it. Want to go to the movies with your friends? Fine, but you better make sure there's money in your account sufficient to cover it. My son had no issues with the system and never came close to running short. DD....a different story. LOL. She quickly figured it out though, and has become an efficient manager of money. My theory was that they would NEVER learn to manage money if they didn't practice, and better to practice with smaller consequences than larger ones once they were truly living on their own. The cards are debit cards, linked to Visa, and allow them to withdraw cash or pay as if it were a card. It was a great learning experience from there. I had (and still have) full access to the accounts. I am a joint owner of the account. I'm about ready to step back from that now that they will turn 20. I'm confident they have it figured out.

Note that the amount each child received was NOT the same. If depended on their unique needs. I sat down with each individually and we made a list of possible expenses (by looking at real ones over the course of the last year) and negotiated a "fair" amount. It changed over time of course.

And, then, I did the hard thing....which was to let them fail. I kept my mouth zipped as my daughter frittered her money away on silly things, and then fell short of being able to pay a fee for participation in a theater event. I floated her a "loan" (with interest) against her next month's allowance to make the payment. She learned FAST that this was undesirable as she ended up with less money. Too bad. So sad. That's the real world honey!

 

[wenrob]

Hmm, I’ve had my kids checking accounts at different banks, and all required a parent on the account until 18. https://www.thebalance.com/bank-accounts-for-people-under-18-315365

Yeah, I’m not sure. I thought she was 16 she says she was 14. She was in high school (freshman at 14) and I put her lunch money there as well. She had the option to make lunch at home and keep that if she wanted in addition to her allowance. We do belong to a credit union where you have to have a family member to “get in” and she’s had a savings account there since she was little. In any case my name is still on it just because we’ve never bothered to take it off.

 

[mjkacmom]

Yeah, I’m not sure. I thought she was 16 she says she was 14. She was in high school (freshman at 14) and I put her lunch money there as well. She had the option to make lunch at home and keep that if she wanted in addition to her allowance. We do belong to a credit union where you have to have a family member to “get in” and she’s had a savings account there since she was little. In any case my name is still on it just because we’ve never bothered to take it off.

My kids were 14 when I got them savings accounts.