To date your options haven't been great.



Your ATM or Credit Card: Once he has your card, you have very little control over how much he spends. The card is linked to your account, so if he spends too much, you have to deal with the consequences.

Travelers Checks: Inconvenient to cash, and a hassle if they are lost.

Cash: Simply not a safe way to travel with money. If lost or stolen it can't be replaced.

Checks and money transfers: Only a convenient option if he opens a local bank account. International transfer and check cashing fees tend to be high, and can take at least several days.

So what is a parent to do? The leading credit card companies such as MasterCard and Visa now offer prepaid debit cards. The popular cards are accepted around the world, allow easy cash withdrawals in local currency from ATMs and do not require the cardholder to have a bank account. The cardholder can only spend funds that have been loaded onto the card. Because the prepaid card is not associated with a bank account, the card use has no effect on your credit rating.

There are a number of reloadable prepaid debit cards available that allow the cardholder, parents or friends to load additional funds to the card on an as-needed basis. Enough money can be loaded for the entire period your kid goes away, or the cards can be used as an allowance system, with just enough money being loaded per period as necessary.

Prepaid debit cards can also be a safe way for teaching your kid financial responsibility while he is away, and also when he comes back home. While the cards do not allow them to spend more than they have (already an important lesson in today's financial reality), it can also be a tool to teach kids to budget their funds, to limit their spending and to learn within a certain level of control, the effects of spending all their funds before receiving their next "load".

It doesn't matter if you are sending your 13 year old kid to Canada for a week, your 20 year old for a semester in Europe or if your 25 year old goes abroad to teach English in Asia for a year. You still want to make sure that they have easy, instant access to funds if they need it. But you want to be safe about it. Prepaid debit cards can help you provide a means for your kids manage their finds, to have enough money and to be safe about it.