Cal State Northridge family environmental sciences professor Allen Martin says there is one more thing parents should think about before sending their kids off to school ‹ money.

"This is a good opportunity to sit down and go over some financial information," said Martin, director of CSUN's Consumer Resource Center.

Martin said parents should not only talk about how much it is going to cost to attend college and whether the child should work while in school, but also the hazards of using credit cards.

"The fact is that while in college they are going to be bombarded with credit cards, and they need to be prepared to talk about the realities of credit cards," Martin said. "If they charge more than they can afford, they are going to be paying for this over the long haul ‹ with interest. Parents need to be realistic about this if they are not prepared to bail their kids out of financial credit card debt. This will certainly save some heartache and confusion later."

Martin suggests parents and their children sit down and have an honest discussion about how much college is going to cost each semester, and then break it down per month.

"They should discuss what the plans are in terms of support. How much the child can expect from his family and what the parents' expectations are for the child's contribution," Martin said. "This is a good opportunity for dialogue. A lot of times children don't know what to expect from their parents, and the parents don't know what to expect from their children."

If parents are going to give their child a credit card, Martin said, then they must be clear about their expectations for its use.

"Is it only to be used to buy books or in cases of an emergency?" he said. "When is it acceptable to buy pizza or a round of drinks for the gang? When is it not?"

Martin said it's important that parents discuss the real dangers of credit card use.

He pointed out that if someone racks up a $1,000 credit card debt and only paid back the minimum owed each month, it would take 10 years to pay off at a total cost of $1,800.

"If the child makes mistakes now, he could be paying for them for years," Martin said. "If you develop a bad credit report for not paying off the debt on time or for slow payments, it could prevent you from buying a house later, starting a business or financing a graduate education."

If a credit card is necessary, Martin suggested getting a prepaid, preloadable one, similar to VISA Buxx, in which parents put money into a credit card account with a set maximum that can be charged.

The discussion about financial responsibility goes both ways, Martin said.

In some cases, the child may have been contributing to the family's support for years and when financial aid checks start coming in, whether in the form of grants or loans, some families may expect that money to go toward household expenses, he said.

"A child could end up paying for that for years," Martin said. "In those instances, it's important for the child to talk to his or her family about what that money is to be used for."

Martin has one more financial tip for the college-bound.

"They should take advantage of the experts they are going to have access to while in college," he said. "They should take a class in consumer protection or family finance. They might actually get information they can take home to mom and dad."