“The message I would give Justin Bieber is the same I would give any teen, or adult, for that matter,” says Jim Collas, founder of teen-focused financial services company BillMyParents. “Pay attention to how you’re spending your money, and spend smart. Whether you’re spending $50 or $50,000, you should avoid impulse spending, use a budget and spend wisely.”

Kids need to learn to appreciate and understand the value of money and there is no better way to teach this than to give them money on a regular basis and let them make decisions about how to spend it. However, not only do parents need to start the conversation about healthy spending habits early, but they must also stay engaged continuously, especially as long as they are giving them money.

The BMP card comes with a preset limit that cannot be exceeded; the funding for the card is provided by parents – in most cases – and it is up to a parent’s discretion to dole out money. Moreover, whenever a purchase is made using the BMP card, parents receive a text message so they are aware of where and how the money is being spent.

I like the idea for two big reasons: It creates a paper trail for the things you buy your children — so you’ll know pretty quickly how much you’re really spending on their “needs” — and it forces the child to justify what he wants, in writing. Rather than letting your kids just whine in a personal audience in front of you, BillMyParents gives you a legitimate outlet to tell them to use to send you a formal request for whatever it is they want, and you’ll be able to consider it on your own time. Whining averted.

Read more about BillMyParents on Yahoo! Tech

Lack of credit card was the reason cited by 40% of teenagers in a US study for not buying online. According to the Harris Interactive YouthPulse Survey, over a third of the money spent by youth in the US is researched first online. To deal with this issue, an online payment system has been launched in the states called BillMyParents.

Read more about BillMyParents at CardSmart

“This is going to give parents a controlled way to scrutinize their children’s spending,” Collas says.
But will it pass the Mom test? Granted there is an advantage in finding a way to avoid passing Junior the plastic.

Read more about BillMyParents on CNBC

Bill My Parents works in a manner that will be familiar to employees of large companies that use online expense tracking systems. Kids will find something they want to buy online, but instead of going through a traditional credit card-based payment system, they click a “bill my parents” button, which sends an email about the potential purchase to a selected parent. If the parent approves the purchase, the parent will be billed for the purchase to his or her own credit card.

Read more about BillMyParents in the Wall Street Journal

Meet BillMyParents.com’s Amazon Web site, where the entirety of Amazon.com’s Web site is available in a one-click format. The kicker? A child doesn’t need a credit card, just a parent’s willingness to buy little John or Sally whatever his or her heart desires. There’s even a charming little image of a teen holding out her palm for her mother’s plastic.

Read more about BillMyParents at AppScout

Bidding for a share of the estimated $132 billion spent annually by teens, online and off, Socialwise Inc. has launched BillMyParents. It’s an online payment platform that teens can use to make purchases at Amazon.com, and soon at several video game sites. On the way is a social shopping application that will allow teens to share their purchases online with friends.

Read more about BillMyParents at Internet Retailer

As inclined as I am to disparage systems that put the Web in the middle of the parent/child relationship, I actually think this idea works. It doesn’t reduce or remove communication in a family, in fact it could increase it. And it makes it easier to mark, track, and purchase online items…