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With debit cards on the rise, more and more families question the pros and cons of opening a checking account for their teenagers.

Tiffany Curro, Staff Writer

With debit cards on the rise, more and more families question the pros and cons of opening a checking account for their teenagers.

Today, a debit card can be found in many students wallets here at BHS due to their beneficial purposes. Although their popularity is at a high, these plastic cards still remain a controversial subject when it comes how old the owner/user should be. Are teenagers not responsible enough?

We, The Roar, believe that teenagers should be allowed to have a debit card.

These cards have so many pros to them, including the fact that these small pieces of plastic are a much safer alternative to a wallet full of cash. If someone steals a wallet with only a debit card in it, then the victim just needs to make a phone call to his or her bank to cancel the card. However, all the money that was left in the wallet is most likely gone forever. A few dollars is a lot of many to teenagers, so if someone steals a few dollars out of someone’s wallet, it really does affect the victim.

These cards also are great practice for teenagers who plan on getting a credit card in the future. By owning a debit card, students have some type of experience with money aside from cash.  They will be able to learn how easy it is to spend money and the importance of saving. Debit cards can make kids better at financing their money.  

However, many may argue that a debit card is a bad idea due to the fact that young adults can not visually see the money being transferred. Therefore, they spend more money. Although this is a good point, there are ways for kids to keep a balance of how much money they are taking out of their account.

Many banks now offer an online system that allows its clients to check their balances at any point. They can also link teenager’s account to their parent’s account so that their parents can also monitor their spending.

In the end, these cards were made to benefit people. If someone abuses them, then it is truly their own loss.