Is it more difficult to be a parent now than in the past? The question is difficult to answer, but the fact that it is often asked indicates that the pressure on parents seems to have increased. The role of parents in the lives of their children has increased and become more scrutinized. Did parents pay equal attention to each of their children? Did parents push their kids into the right activities? Parenting has become far more than just babysitting until Junior hits 18. Parenting does not finish after high school, but some of the headaches that occur after shipping the kids off to college can be avoiding by proving proper instruction of the realities of life.
Public education might give children an idea on how to interact with peers and how to add and subtract, but graduating from high school does not mean that young adults are ready to face the real world. Children need to be able apply the theory of financial responsibility to their own lives before being expected to be independent individuals. One of the best ways to do this is to expose them to the tools of financial independence early in their lives. Giving children access to a checking account, a debit card and a credit card provides them with the practical experience necessary to make sure that financial responsibility is a lesson they master and reuse the rest of their lives. A prepaid credit card is like financial training wheels. With a prepaid credit card, children learn about the benefits of carrying a card without the ability to run up a huge balance.
Being a parent might not be more difficult now, but it is almost certainly more complex. Guiding children from the cradle to a career takes time and the willingness to teach hard lessons. Teaching the value of financial security early prevents a disaster later in life.