Answer: 18%, according to recent survey by T. Rowe Price.

Here’s the data:

Some reasons parents gave for giving their kids credit cards:

• Safe travel: “They were flying by themselves at that age to go to sleep-over camp,” says Zucker, who lives in Omaha, Nebraska. “We didn’t want them to feel stuck or stranded.” Traveling with cash alone is risky, because if it’s lost or stolen, the money is usually gone for good. With credit cards, though, funds are replaced when fraud is reported to the credit issuer.
• Credit history: “For this reason, she made her son an authorized user on her credit card when he turned 18. “Today, three years later, he’s a junior in college with a 760 credit score,” says Panza. “I think more parents should do this for their children. It’s a perfect gift to get them started in life. They will ultimately get better rates on car loans and home loans.”
• Teach financial responsibility: “I was doing it to empower them,” says Armato, who was a single mother at the time. She also needed their assistance to run the household, so access to the cards made sense. “My daughter went grocery shopping, my boys helped me with other things. The cards helped them become responsible people. I owe that to giving them credit cards at a young age.”

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Here’s a great NGPF Activity where students analyze profiles and decide whether or not individuals should get a credit card.

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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