Justine Tobin’s KidsMoney Weblog

Jon’s credit card statement came today.  Jon is out of town on a camping trip.  Hannah opened the statement, thinking it was hers.  But she discovered it was Jon’s.

I looked at the statement.  There is a late charge.  My heart sank.  My thirteen-year-old son just doesn’t use his credit card enough to want to deal with a $29 late charge.

Yes, the rules are changing come January.  Maybe there won’t be these outrageous charges for being late with credit cards starting then.  Frankly, I can’t remember.

But that’s not the point.

Jon called me just now and I told him about the charges.  He was clearly upset.

He said, “How much is that per day?”

I noted that a late fee is charged to your account if the payment is just one day late.  It’s just a lump sum.  Jon thought that there would be some kind of penalty per day.  He thought it was unfair that his payment was four days late and he has to pay $29 in an assessment for being ‘late.’

I agree.  My heart goes out to this child of mine, this child who is so frugal, who watches every single penny.  I want to rush up to his room and stuff $29 into his piggy bank so that he won’t feel the pain.  I truly want to pay the charges for him.

But I hold back.

It can be so painful to be a responsible parent.  Parenting these days in this country seems to be about helping our kids not have pain or disappointment.  But that is not parenting.  That is coddling.

I am a parent.

When Jon called, I told him how this works.  I told him that it is important to pay all bills on time.  That now he only has a credit card.  But when he grows up, he will have the rent, the utility bill, the mortgage.  All of those bills have to be paid on time, even if there are no steep financial penalties for not paying the bill on time.

And that is why Jon has a credit card.  To learn to manage money in preparation for adulthood.

Even if it is no fun.

Justine