As if parents of teenagers didn't have enough tough decisions to make, another one is coming: Should you get your kid a credit card?

Starting in February, people under age 21 likely will have a much harder time getting approved for plastic as reforms enacted by the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 go into effect. Applicants under 21 will have to prove they have "independent means" to repay their debts -- that is, jobs -- or they'll have to get adults to co-sign for their cards. To read more...

Childcare is key. Good parents are, too by Judith Timson

Being a parent has always been about being judged. Way back before any so-called Mommy Wars, there were neighbours and relatives clucking about your child's atrocious manners or the fact you spoiled your kids. Or even occasionally lost track of them.

Now, of course, much of the judgment is ideologically fixated on childcare arrangements, as if everything you need to know about the quality of a child's life is revealed by whether her mother works outside the home.
To read more...

Study 9: Father Personality and Parenting Styles

• Open to all fathers who wish to participate.

• By participating in this 20-25 minute study, you will help us understand the connections between personality traits of fathers and their parenting styles. Participants will be informed of our research findings upon completion of this study through our newsletter and on the "Our Research Webpage". Click on the link above to enter the study.

• Current number of participants as of 9.24.09....109

• Number of participants needed for this study....200

Sad lives of spoiled teens is reality that's hard to watch By Karla Peterson

Well, they got the gossip part right. And the conspicuous consumption. And the jaw-dropping sense of entitlement.

Based on the exploits of the real-life Manhattan high-schoolers as portrayed in Bravo's new “NYC Prep,” the creators of the fictional “Gossip Girl” did get one aspect of their young characters' lush lives very, very wrong.
They gave them parents.

The high-schoolers in “NYC Prep” have credit cards and car services and their own personal shoppers. What most of them don't seem to have is adult supervision. Because if they did, they wouldn't end up on a show like “NYC Prep.”  To read more...

Teens need debt driver's licenses By Liz Pulliam Weston

Graduated drivers' licenses -- which restrict when and with whom young people can drive -- seem to do a pretty good job reducing auto accidents and fatalities.

Perhaps it's time to adopt something similar to ease teenagers into their financial responsibilities.

Right now, adolescents can sign themselves up for life-crushing debt years before they can legally drink, and sometimes before they're even old enough to vote. Some of this debt -- specifically, student loans -- can literally follow them to the grave, since it typically can't be erased in bankruptcy court. To read more...

 

Thanks to Research Assistant Mary Slinger who contributed by finding stories to include in this edition of the newsletter.

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