That figure can even include what you pay for their college expenses. There's intense competition among issuers to get credit cards into young people's hands, because studies show we tend to keep the card we start with. You may be surprised to learn that your college kid can get credit cards without your permission.
Card issuers say that students have the same good payment record as most adults.
But parents may be paying those bills, so their children won't start life with soiled credit histories. The issuers are effectively counting on you to pay by letting students rely on your money to qualify in the first place. What Your Child Needs to Know is a monthly column by Jane Bryant Quinn in Good Housekeeping magazine. Subscribe today . Hearst Communications Inc. MoneyMinded Limitation of Liability and Privacy Policy .