Parents often ask what to do when a son or daughter suddenly lives on coin charts with no savings of their own. The worry is fair: a lot of “education” online is just affiliate funnels into exchanges, meme tokens or leverage. For some teenagers the loop feels closer to gambling than to investing.
Start by mapping the feed. Who do they watch? Do those voices earn referral fees for deposits, or sell a private signal club? Once you see the incentive, the counter-message is easier: crypto carries market, custody, scam and leverage risk; screenshots of other people’s profits are not a plan.
Practical boundaries matter more than lectures. No loans, no credit cards, no margin or futures “to learn faster”. If they want to experiment, a tiny amount they already own — after a basic emergency buffer — is the ceiling. Document phishing and seed-phrase theft; those stories land harder than abstractions.
Curiosity is not a crime. Borrowing to chase a tip from a stranger is the line to hold.
If money has already moved under pressure, use Get help.
This article is for general information only. It is not legal or financial advice. Details change. If you have lost money, contact your bank or card issuer and use the routes on the help pages.