Kids are swiping the plastic and it's parents who are handing it over to them

A new study shows about one in five parents says their child has a credit card. Those are kids ages eight to 14. And it's not just the 14-year-olds who have the cards. The study finds 13 percent of eight to nine-year-olds have credit cards -- and  18 percent of ten to 12-year-olds have them.

These numbers are up from 2012 when about one in 25 parents said their kids had a card. In 2015, that number rose to one in ten.

Many parents are adding their children to their card as an authorized user. That means their child is allowed to use their card. Parents may do this to make it easier for kids to buy things when they are away from mom and dad. Also, so they have emergency money if they need it.



Bankrate suggests starting kids with a prepaid credit card.