Beginning this week, it became much harder for college students to obtain a credit card.

Many college kids who aren’t 21 yet must get a cosigner to obtain a student credit card. Frankly, I think that’s a good thing.

A far better alternative to that first credit card in college is a debit card, which you can use just about anywhere a credit card is accepted. It’s harder to get into serious trouble with a debit card linked to a student checking account.

As you’ll see from the blog post that I wrote for CBSMoneyWatch, student debit cards  can be much better for parents too. To find out why check out:

The No. 1 Alternative to Student Credit Cards.

Lynn O’Shaughnessy is the author of The College Solution, an Amazon bestseller. Follow her on Twitter.