Parents who make credit-based spending available to their youngsters before they can obtain it on their own, risk setting their children on the road to a lifetime of debt. Or worse, financial disaster.

Few young people have developed financial self-discipline. Credit-based spending can be as addicting as nicotine, cocaine or alcohol. Most proponents of credit minimize the dangers, however, probably because credit-based spending usually doesn't do physical harm that other indulgences do. Co-signing for credit seldom builds credit in your child's name. It does insure that you will cover all payments your children are unable to make. If they have to have a piece of plastic, insist they put up a deposit and get a debit card.

Young people need to be indoctrinated to savings and accumulation before they are introduced to credit-based spending. When opening a saving account (take your children along and have them open up savings accounts also). If saving is important to parents it will also be important to their children. If credit-based spending is the norm for parents, it will be for the children if they are exposed to credit before they become employed full-time or complete their education.

Parents are too quick to bail their children out of financial scrapes and troubles and young people seldom have negative consequences from their extravagance. If a child unwisely spends the entire allowance money this week instead of saving for the concert next week, parents should not give more money for the concert. Let the young people learn the consequences associated with their spending decisions. In this case, no concert.