iTunes can be a great tool for motivating your child. Money to spend on songs is a reward your child can earn and enjoy quickly, but adding those gains to your own account makes it difficult sometimes to know who's got what to spend. Setting up an account in your child's name makes those rewards more concrete, and gives your child a lesson in managing money, too.
You can start an iTunes account with a credit-card, a gift card or certificate, or an allowance. Let's assume you want your child to have a personal iTunes account, but not unlimited access to your credit card. For the step-by-step in this article, you'll need to have an iTunes gift card or certificate.
If your child just received one as a gift, you're ready to go. If not, you can buy a gift certificate from your own iTunes account to print or e-mail; or you can buy an iTunes gift card at many stores, including Apple stores and department stores like Target. (If you're buying one at an Apple store, make sure you get an iTunes gift card and not an Apple store gift card -- the latter won't work on iTunes.) Gift cards sell for as little as $10, so if your kids have that much in savings, you can have them buy their own, or earn the money from you.
Once you have a gift card or certificate, you're ready to proceed. If you'd prefer to set up your child's account using an allowance, go to my allowance step-by-step. And if you just want to use the account to help your child get free applications, songs, podcasts, and other downloads, go to the free account step-by-step for an account with no credit card, no gift card, no allowance, and no money to spend.
