I absoulutly agree!That is a brillant find!Thankyou for sharing this tool which is important for all of us and I feel like I wrote this too! Same situation and wanted a fair soulution because I was in a bad accident with someone speeding and talking on there cell phone and has changed all of our lives as we new it and it's a parents worst nightmare to have there kids do some of the stuff I was capable of doing!THANKYOU!THIS WILL HELP ALOT! DO YOU GO ONLINE OR MY BANK?
Sincerly,
Hope! HOPE FOR ALL 2006!

This sounds cool. Another option is a teen checking account -- offered thru Wells Fargo. This is what we've provided to our daughter. She keeps approximately $100 in her account (funds from her allowance and miscellaneous gifts). She can use it as she sees fit, however if she uses it with prior permission, we're likely to reimburse her. If she uses it for something that we disagree with, no reimbursement.

At 13.5 years old, she's had the card for over a year and never used it improperly. She wants that reimbursement!

She's the same kid who, the first time she went over her text limits, gave her Dad $20 for the overage. It killed her.

There's no doubt in her mind that we'll enforce the, "no approval, no reimbursement" rule.

thank you for your advice, it's very helpful

Activa, some PTA's seek out parent's suggestions for speakers while others don't. The subject of finances and allowances for younger students is always "touchy." Your best bet might be to contact your PTA president directly, and talk to them.

thank you for your reply. Do you think schools PTA would be interested if i present it as a Educational tool for kids and parents to use?

i agree with you.my 12 year old daughter has this card and its teaching her how to manage her money.she knows its only for emergencies. its a good idea,for your teen to have this card

Activa, with 12 and 13-year-old kids, you might be interested in joining Greatschools Parents of Middle School Students Group at community.greatschools.net/groups/11528, where lots of other topics of interest are discussed!

thank you, i think it has a lot of benefits for for the whole family.

my kids are 12 and 13 , they have this card for 3 month and the card they have is not connected to my card, but i am not sure if you get ratings on debit card, you can only spend what you put in , it's not a credit. But it works as a tool to educate on how to budget and manage money and specially money on credit card. thank you

this is great, i didn't know you can control the kids spending like this and refill the card anytime - cool - must check it out!

Can I ask how old your children are, and how long they've had their cards?
I've been told how important it is to develop a good credit rating from the time a person turns 18, but prior to that age, a student can't get their own "regular" credit card. They may be added as a secondary user on a parent's credit account. I don't believe that prepaid credit cards, or debit cards, contribute to a student's credit history or rating. Do you know?