This convenience has hidden costs

Teen Visa. How cool is that? Your daughter cruises the mall, surrounded by a giggling squad of her peers. They finger sweaters at The Bon, flip through CDs at Musicland, ogle the rainbow of lipstick colors at Merle Norman. And then it happens: your 14-year-old nonchalantly whips out The Card. The other girls' eyes widen. "You have ... Visa?"

It's a parent's job to determine which convenience products will benefit the family. And there's no question "prepaid stored-value cards" are convenient. Parents fund Visa Buxx or Visa's Pocket Card by transferring money from their bank accounts or by charging the amount to their own Visa cards. That's right - now you can charge your kid's allowance!

Isn't it also a parent's job to model financial discipline?

With plastic it's so easy to spend. You don't see the money leaving your pocket. The average consumer owes more than $5,000 in credit card debt. Personal bankruptcies are at an all-time high, so rampant that Congress is passing legislation to curb the number of consumers reneging on their promises to repay personal debt.

Young consumers are inundated with messages to buy hipper clothes, sparklier cosmetics, faster skateboards. The last thing a teen needs is for Mom to hand him an engraved invitation to a lifetime of credit card chaos.

Parents say they love the tracking system that Visa Buxx provides. Charge-card statements may be viewed online at any time. Parents can even elect to receive instant e-mail notification whenever the card is activated. As if electronic tracking of a shopping expedition provides a full account of a teen's activities. You wish!

Teens need adult guidance and trust, not Orwellian monitoring.

It's no secret that today's busy families spend less time together than families once did. A teenager's need to establish independence cuts family time even further; that's nature's way. The debt industry's latest gimmick provides us with yet another excuse to avoid interaction with young people. Communication is a precious commodity. Even conflict is an opportunity for growth.

All parents hope their children achieve a sense of personal accountability, a working knowledge of the basics of money management, and the technological savvy to pay bills, balance a checkbook and navigate the Internet responsibly. Here's an idea: let's teach them ourselves.

Talk to your kids.

Copyright 2001 Cowles Publishing Company
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.