You may instantly think to retort with a firm ‘No’ when faced with a question such as this, but consider the fact that you could be doing something that is tantamount to stealing your child’s identity; more particularly their financial identity.
Parents who have not been able to manage their finances and particularly their lines of credit properly may well be tempted to cash in on their child’s.
A child’s financial history is typically clean, prompting parents to use their identities to explore new financial options.
This is frankly unfair for the child, who is not making the financial decision, but may be saddled with its consequences; and may even remain unaware of this until the time they reach adulthood.
Also a child is not likely to prosecute a parent, particularly since the parent was, after all trying to make ends meet.
Falling behind on payments and being unable to make ends meet each month may make parents take the extreme step of using their child’s social security number and appropriating it to their own use.
If you are taking out loans in your child’s name, opening credit cards in their name, having them co-sign a lease or creating phone or utility accounts in your child’s name then you are in fact guilty of the theft of your child’s identity. If you are doing this, think long and hard about the consequences it may have for your child.
