It was my daughter’s birthday and she wanted to go to her favorite roller-skating rink with some friends. She asked if she could bring some money and I gave her permission. When we got there, she pulled out a large roll of cash to use and I immediately went into safety mode. I told her she should not be carrying that much money with her, that she could lose it or it could get stolen. I explained to her that she should only bring a certain amount with her that she intended to spend. Of course, she had a hard time understanding this concept.
My daughter’s friend’s Dad was there and told me I should get her a credit card of her own. He introduced me to GoHenry. It is a debit card and an app with unique parental controls for children between the ages of 6 to 18. It was easy to set up online and you can even customize it with her name and unique picture on it of their choice. Being a soccer player as her Mom was, this is what she decided to go with.
This is such a great way for parents to have control of their child’s money, but still give them the opportunity to learn about earning, spending, saving and giving. You put the responsibility in the hands of your child. The parent has an online account linked to the child’s account. You are able to set up weekly allowances that automatically get transferred into the child’s account or make single transfers for certain chores they might accomplish. You are able to put certain blocks on the card and choose where the card is able to be used, such as in-store, online or ATM. Lastly, you can receive real-time spend notifications and change the rules on the card at any time.
I will say, it was slightly challenging setting up some of the spending parameters I wanted to have for her initially. You always have to have a minimum of $10.00 in the parent account, which you are then able to transfer into the child’s account. It is basically an extra step, in terms of it transferring from your bank account, then to the parent account and finally to the child’s account. The customer service team was great and patient when assisting me when setting up what I wanted, and they are there to answer all your questions.
Now the fun begins. Happy spending!
This is a great idea, Kristen!!!