Released: July 19, 2006

Your card, your kids’ credit histories?

Source: By Janet Bodnar, Kiplinger's Personal Finance

Several years ago, when my two boys were younger, I heard that I could improve their credit history if I listed them on my credit card as authorized users. I did but never gave them cards, on which I have made regular payments. Is it true that I improved their credit history? Now that they are 23 and 21, should I keep them as authorized users?

It’s my firm belief that parents shouldn’t mix their credit history with their children’s, and that includes putting them on your card as authorized users.

Parents have an obligation to teach children how to manage money so that kids can apply for credit on their own once they’re mature enough to handle it. But parents have no obligation to give their children credit, or the benefit of their own credit history.

Why is it a bad idea? Let me count the ways. First, children don’t need a credit history, so there’s no reason to push them into getting one.

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