 TITLE: How to Build and Maintain Good Credit at Every Stage of Life CONTENT: Should You Start Building Your Kid's Credit?\n--------------------------------------------\nIt's possible to help your child start building credit when they're quite young, which can give them the opportunity to enter adulthood with positive credit history. Several credit card issuers allow teens and young adults to become authorized users on their parents' credit cards, which can help responsible high school and college students learn about credit early. But consider your child's maturity level and understanding of saving and budgeting before providing them the opportunity to make purchases on a card that you'll have to pay off.\nHaving kids can affect your own credit, often indirectly: You may take on debt for a larger house, take out student loans for your children or pay for increasing expenses with a credit card. According to a 2019 Experian analysis, the more children a consumer had, the more debt they carried. But consumers with four or more children also had higher credit scores than those with one, two or three children, according to the analysis. Monitoring your credit closely and making payments on time can prevent periods of high debt loads from leading to poor credit. END