Teach Your Children About Credit and How To Manage It Responsibly

One of the most important things for a child to learn in order to become a successful adult when he grows up is not taught in school. This is a very serious omission that parents need to be aware of and that they, as parents, must address if they want their children to lead happy lives as adults.

The concept that I am talking about is credit and how to manage it wisely.

I cannot understand why this crucial topic is not covered in schools today but I believe that it is imperative for parents to teach their children how to handle credit.

How many people grow onto young adulthood and immediately obtain and then misuse credit cards? I would venture to say that a large amount of today's young adults have buried themselves in debt that will take years to overcome.

Credit card companies make it very easy for college students to obtain credit cards. But if you stop and think about it, most college students do not have the wherewithal to pay for the credit card debt that they can so frivolously incur.

Many young adults today do not even know how to balance their checkbooks. I used to constantly prod my son to keep his checkbook balanced, making a joke out of it by calling it "Big Boy Checking". But it's not a joke when a young adult keeps throwing money away for overdraft fees caused by an unbalanced checkbook.

The same goes for credit. Young adults who spend money by paying for purchases with credit they cannot afford are making the same sort of mistake. Credit is something that is too easy to get and too easy to abuse.

Telling your children to avoid credit entirely is not the answer either. Credit needs to be established at an early age to have for emergencies for instance. But obtaining credit for future needs is different from credit abuse.

Teach your children sound credit practices and you will be giving them a gift that will last for the rest of their lives.