Student checking acct. for a 13 year old?

[rszdtrvl]

I got notification from our bank that our son's savings account now has optional student checking because he turned 13 years old.

I jumped on it, and got the checking account all ready, and ordered him a visa debit card (no paper checks).

My son is the kind of kid who goes on tons of field trips with school, and this will make is so much easier for him, rather than carrying a lot of cash, he can use the debit card. Plus, he has online banking.

And he is the kind of kid who does not really spend money. He hangs on to it, until he decides he really wants something.

Does your child have a student checking account? Does your bank offer it? How did your child handle the account? Were they responsible with it?

Just curious.

 

[sparklynails23]

Too young. I'm guessing this is just another way for banks to pile on the overdraft fees and screw up people's credit early. Did he have to have a co-signer?

 

[happygirl]

I got notification from our bank that our son's savings account now has optional student checking because he turned 13 years old.

I jumped on it, and got the checking account all ready, and ordered him a visa debit card (no paper checks).

My son is the kind of kid who goes on tons of field trips with school, and this will make is so much easier for him, rather than carrying a lot of cash, he can use the debit card. Plus, he has online banking.

And he is the kind of kid who does not really spend money. He hangs on to it, until he decides he really wants something.

Does your child have a student checking account? Does your bank offer it? How did your child handle the account? Were they responsible with it?

Just curious.

I don't think it's a good idea, If I wanted my child to have a debit card at that age I would get them a pre-paid one. To each there own

 

[golfgal]

All of our kids have them and I LOVE THEM. DS 17 has had his for almost 4 years now and never had an overdraft fee, the twins just got theirs a few months ago. Yes, you have to have a cosigner, me but it also then shows up with our online banking accounts. You can set the accounts up with overdraft protection if you want. They can get paper checks which we haven't used but DS17 needs to go to the bank this week and order some as he will need them soon for college.

It is really nice when the kids are out and need to buy something or even better yet when I can send DS a text at school and have him pick up milk or whatever on the way home. I don't need to worry about having cash on hand for the kids any longer.

What I REALLY got them for is so I never have to go into a teen shop and lose what is left of my hearing again

I LOVE THESE CARDS!!!!!!


edit--to answer your questions--we put money on the cards for the twins and they need to ask to "spend" any of it. DS17 has his money from his job on there and we put money in there too for gas, picking stuff up for us, etc. He has to keep track of his money vs our money and it isn't our money unless he brings home a receipt.

 

[AliceinHalloweentown]

I've had a debit card since about that age (maybe 12 years old).
It really is a convenience and MUCH safer than carrying cash around everywhere.

I love that my mom can load my allowance right on to it and that I can order things online.

Now that we're all driving age, my friends all have cards to get gas with, but I'm happy I had the lessons of responsibility with my card before this point.

I have the MasterCard Allow Card-- its specifically for teens and the website used to offer money lessons, as well!

 

[Sparx]

i suggest bank of america. thats the bank i use. (i'm a college student) and i have never had a problem with them. the online banking updates almost immediately, and keeps you in the loop about what pending charges you have, so overdrafting is almost impossible if you keep up with your account (which is very easy.)

 

[barkley]

i don't know how effective it would be. it seems like more and more buisnesses require a legal i.d. if you use a debit card and i suspect because it would be out of the norm for a 13 year old to have their own the buisness might question/reject the purchase (thinking it was the card of their father).


you might want to check on the laws in your state-in most a person under 18 years of age can't enter into a legal contract which essentialy exchanging a check for goods or services is-so saavy buisnesses may be aware of this and will refuse to accept a check.

i'm shocked any bank would allow a visa associated card for a 13 year old unless it's co-signed or tied to mom or dad's account-that's entering into the realm of contracting for a line of credit which would seem out of the question for a minor that age.

 

[Auggietina]

My dd has a debit card. It is through USAA and I put her allowance on it. I love it. I don't have to worry about her carrying cash and losing it somewhere. The one through USAA is a prepaid one and she can only use what is on the card There are no overdraft fees and it's not based on any savings account.

It has worked for us and I'm glad we started it for her.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My dd has a debit card. It is through USAA and I put her allowance on it. I love it. I don't have to worry about her carrying cash and losing it somewhere. The one through USAA is a prepaid one and she can only use what is on the card There are no overdraft fees and it's not based on any savings account.

It has worked for us and I'm glad we started it for her.

That is a pretty cool idea. I would get it if it was available. My older dd got a debit card when she was 15 and we also got her a state id. She was traveling places and we wanted her to have access without complaints.

I wonder if I can get an state ID for my youngest? I am going to look into that.

 

[Bluestars]

I think it's a great idea and I'm probably going to set up an account for my 14 yr old. I think it's a great way to teach kids how to manage money. I have heard of too many instances where kids get into trouble when they are out on their own because they haven't been taught anything about how to handle finances and credit.

 

[DISNEY1975]

I have a DS who just went off to college and got his first debit card at 18.

Big mistake! I wish they offered it to him a lot sooner so I could supervise and talk to him daily about using it. At 18, he barely knew how to handle money other than $20 at a time. He went through $200 in just over 2 weeks at college.

Its almost like the drivers license debate...whether to change the age to 17 or 18. I want it to stay at 16 1/2 so I have control over when/where my kids drive until they gain experience. I would hate to hand over a driver license and keys to my child and have them drive off, unsupervised, until all hours of the night at age 18...or have their first driving experience be a 2+ hour highway drive off to college.

 

[aprilgail2]

i don't know how effective it would be. it seems like more and more buisnesses require a legal i.d. if you use a debit card and i suspect because it would be out of the norm for a 13 year old to have their own the buisness might question/reject the purchase (thinking it was the card of their father).


.

I use my debit card for everything and never once was I asked for ID while using it.

 

[happygirl]

I use my debit card for everything and never once was I asked for ID while using it.

I always want them to ask for my ID when I'm using it. It has been a while since they haven't asked for it

 

[Art 1]

We gave our daughter a debit card at 15, she is now a senior in HS. Works well for us, we keep a balance in it for her and she can use it to go out to the movies and that kind of thing. It's also good for emergencies if needed when she is out.

 

[laurie31]

I got a checking account when I was 13. It was great to be able to write checks myself without having to ask my parents for money. Of course, this was the late 70's, so there were no such things as debit cards. I put my own money that I earned babysitting into the account, and I bought what I wanted (usually books or games) with it. I also was able to write checks at school for things like lunch money and year book orders, field trip fees, etc. My mom showed me how to balance it, and I was very careful.

I think it's very important for children to learn how to manage money.

 

[rszdtrvl]

It is a debit card, not an actual credit card. So he will have a pin number to enter. I have never been asked for ID when I have used my card with a pin number.

If my son were the type of kid that spent money as soon as he received it, I would not even think about getting him a debit card. He is the kind of kid who will hang on to money forever. Or until he figures out something he wants (like a video game that is being released).

He will definitely learn how to balance a checkbook, etc. also. And will know all about online banking. I am going to make sure he is 100% familiar with everything.

He is a very responsible child, an only child, so I know he is ready for this type of responsibility.

I was/am curious about others experiences with a debit card for their early teen age children.

 

[clovergirl5]

dd13 is very responsible and I would do this for her. I never really thought about it. She did use prepaid visa cards for her D.C. trip last year. I guess its the same principle.
I think its a good idea if you have a responsible kid. dd13 does have a savings acct. in her name with $ that is added to it each week out of dh check. The account is set up for all 5 kids for their future and is in dd13 and dh name. That bank must not have a debit program for teens because we have never heard anything.

 

[clh2]

To the Op - obviously you need to make your own decision, based on the things you want your child to learn, and also based on their responsibility.

We opened a checking account for our DD when she was 14. She has checks, and an ATM card. We did this because she was going to Spain with her high school band last year, and we didn't want to"euro-her up" with cash she could lose, or not use. This worked splendidly.

Now - the bonus, IMO - while we opened up the account specifically for the band trip - she has been on several more trips - to visit an aunt/uncle for a week, a week-long church youth group trip etc. I LOVE that she has the ATM card for these trips. Just love it!

With her account, there is a restriction that she can only have 4 checks a month that get cashed. SHE NEEDS TO MANAGE THIS! In retrospect, this checking account has been great...we can help her manage it, balance it etc. But the reality is, it is her responsibility to make sure there are funds in it to cover what she is writing checks for. We go through the checkbook ledger with her about every other month - kind of as a check on how good she is managing the account. If needed, i.e. if she is writing out a check for an expense that DH and I would generally cover, we can easily transfer money from our checking account to hers, since I am on both accounts.

For DD, this has been great!!! She has always been responsible with her money...but the checking account gives a a great opportunity to reinforce principles that will help her to manage her finances when she is out on her own, credit scores etc.

Good luck with your decision! Not everyone shares the same point of view - which is one of the things I love about the DISboards...you can learn a lot from other people's experiences!

 

[dislaney]

We also opened one of these accounts for our young teenager. She is very responsible and needed something for a trip she was taking. She has now had her debit card for over 2 years and so far no problems with it. It is very convienient for me. I wouldn't even consider it if my child wasn't responsible though.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I have a DS who just went off to college and got his first debit card at 18.

Big mistake! I wish they offered it to him a lot sooner so I could supervise and talk to him daily about using it. At 18, he barely knew how to handle money other than $20 at a time. He went through $200 in just over 2 weeks at college.

Its almost like the drivers license debate...whether to change the age to 17 or 18. I want it to stay at 16 1/2 so I have control over when/where my kids drive until they gain experience. I would hate to hand over a driver license and keys to my child and have them drive off, unsupervised, until all hours of the night at age 18...or have their first driving experience be a 2+ hour highway drive off to college.

I have younger kids (10 and 7), but I definitely agree. I'd like them to manage a checking account, use credit cards, and start drinking before they go off to college where I can't provide nearly as much guidance. It is definitely my preference that they make mistakes younger rather than older.