They also work at ATM machines in the event a student would need cash. They work off the same principal as a checking account and are useless if a checking account had a zero balance. Secured credit cards require students to establish a savings account of at least several hundred dollars as collateral. Even if as the parent you were to establish this savings account for them, you are still in total control of how much money they have available to them. It is a great training tool, which prepares students once they escalate to a true credit card.
Most parents opt to give their children credit cards in both their names with high limits.
This eliminates all temptations for students to overspend. If you can set it up with the card company so a duplicate bill goes to your home address, it is even more effective. If that is not a viable option, most credit card companies now allow a user access to all charges over the Internet, real time. This will allow you to stop a problem before it gets out of hand. The one drawback to all of this is that once a person reaches the age of 18, they can apply for a credit card on their own.