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I'm not so sure about a debit card: it's too easy to wipe out a checking account with fraudulent activity, and you are at the mercy of the bank to reinstate the funds on a timely basis. A better choice would be a 'stored value' card like Visa Buxx. I've known a few parents that have used it for their child's 'allowance'.

But, once they are at driving age and not yet a good credit risk, I agree with the 'low limit' card for emergencies. But if you trust the child to use it responsibly (or want to give them a chance to learn), co-signing a credit card is a way to start a good credit history for them. There are a couple of card issues in the US that offer them.

The name is a bit silly, but check out Visa Buxx. Visa has several other prepaid options. Check out their website to see.

Yes, but what if you live in northern Wisconsin at a credit-cardless age where you can't find a ride to the nearest Best Buy an hour away?

At a credit-cardless age, you can still ask your parents to give you a Visa Buxx debit card and then buy games online with that.

Does anyone know of a pre-paid, rechargable card along the same lines?

Sounds like a Visa Buxx card. I don't know much about it or what fees (if any) they charge, just that the commercials make it sound like the card you're looking for.

Basically, no... TOS:

• XII. Disclosure of account information to third parties.

  As a part of establishing this Card account, you will receive with your Card a copy of the Bank of America Privacy Policy for Consumers, which generally addresses Bank of America's policy for handling and disclosing information. You may view this policy at www.bankofamerica.com/privacy. With respect to Your Card account, from time to time, subject to any applicable financial privacy laws or other laws or regulations, We may provide information about You and the Card account: (1) to Chex Systems, Inc. or other account information services; (2) to anyone who We reasonably believe is conducting a legitimate credit inquiry, including, without limitation, inquiries to verify the existence or condition of an account for a third party such as a lender, merchant or credit bureau; (3) in response to any subpoena, summons, court or administrative order, or other legal process which We believe requires Our compliance; (4) in connection with collection of indebtedness or to report losses incurred by Us; (5) in compliance with any agreement between Us and a professional, regulatory or disciplinary body; (6) in connection with potential sales of business; and (7) to carefully selected service providers who help Us meet Your needs by providing or offering Our services. In addition, if You or the Teen agree to provide an electronic mail address for purposes of receiving information regarding possible special merchant offers, We will consider that Your consent to provide that address to such merchants.

Can you really get them at grocery stores? The Visa Buxx FAQ says that the cards are issued by individual banks, are usable through ATMs via a PIN you set, etc... is it practical to get a new one of these every once in a while? Are they really completely separate from the rest of your info?

While I agree that there is one big problem with the credit card idea, (that minors CAN get them. In fact Visa is promoting credit cards for kids right now.). First of all, anyone that can get a bank account these days can get a "credit card" for the purposes of this argument. Any Visa or Mastercard will do. And since every bank in the US that I'm aware of offers some kind of Visa or MC "check card" with a CC# that draws directly from your checking account, anyone can get one. No credit check is needed, because it's not credit. It's just a Visa or MC# that draws from your bank account rather than racking up a bill. Also, even if that weren't true... so what? So people without credit cards won't be able to get a hold of it. Neither will people without internet access. Should we say that these companies shouldn't be alowed to sell net porn unless they figure out a way to offer it to people without computers too? Remember this is "free", not nessisarily "Free" speach. I run pr0n sites for a living and I can think of no better way of screening minors. Lets say that some kid does have a credit card. Well, he/she choudln't get it on their own. They CAN have one, but in the states, a kid can't get a job without parental concent, let alone a bank account, credit card, etc. So if a kid is together enough to get all this stuff together, and sign up for a porn site account. Oh well. the kid's probably already close to 18 anyway. And if not, then I think the kid's got bigger problems that the parrents need to deal with. If a kid steals his mom's CC, then the porn is the least of the problems. If a kid is lying to their parents, forging signatures to get a job and a bank account... well, not only are there more serious problems there, but I'd almost say the kid earned it! Granted I'm not expecting that a six year old is doing these kinds of things, but c'mon, how many of us that enjoy porn waited until we were 18 if we had a choice? Weather it was the copy of penthouse you found on the side of the road, or your uncle jim's stash of dirty movies that you found, if you're the kind of person that's going to enjoy porn, I don't think there's much that's stopping people in today's society.

Visa has setup a way for teens and kids to get cards, where anyone can put more money on them. They're not exactly debit or credit cards, but they act in the same way.

Instead of handing your kid $10 a week in allowance, just tell Visa to add $10 a week on their card and take it off your card or out of your checking account.

The card's name is Visa Buxx, and their site is here: http://www.visabuxx.com/

This is why places like Adult Check, etc., are no longer viable. Any kid can now have his or her own credit card that would work fine, and they can be of any age. No need to steal them, no need to apply for them themselves...

So yes, 12 year old kids can go to the Big Brother Site and legally get an account to see into the bathroom or bedrooms of the show. Thanks, Visa!

Dragon Magic

called Visabuxx. If the card number doesn't somehow disclose that the holder is underage, then AVS can't operate by credit cards. On the other hand, if the card does reveal the holder's age, that's a bad privacy violation and exposes the teenager to all kinds of unwanted attention. The mailing lists of teens who use those cards would become a hot commodity for pedophiles as well as more traditional greedy merchants.