This is what I did for my now 20 yr old step daughter last year. I first added her to a couple of my cards around the beginning of 2016. We waited 6 months for her scores to generate. Went to www.creditchecktotal.com and checked. Once they were confirmed, I had her app for a student Discover, student USAA and a Navy Federal cash rewards. She was approved for all three. Also had her to join Alliant FCU and do the $500 SSL trick. It's been a year since opening her own accounts, presently all of her scores are in the 760 to 780 range. She financed her first car through Navy fed a couple of months ago and received the best rate they offer.
Hey Gmood, what ever happened to putting a baby as an AU LOL
@AverageJoesCredit wrote:
Hey Gmood, what ever happened to putting a baby as an AU LOL
Lol..I did add my baby girl (2yrs old at the time). To three of my CCs that backdate. Her credit history is 7 years older than she is. 😂😂
She loves her Chase Amazon Prime card and Capital one QS. She gets them out the night stand and runs around the house with them. I've got to find a better hiding spot.🤔😀
I have two daughters that are AU's on my AMEX Platinum card. One is 15 and I just keep her card in the safe except when we travel. The free Delta lounge is a nice perk 
my older daughter is 18 now and has a job. She has her card on her and is allowed to use it, but she knows she has to pay off her balance every month. This is hopefully getting her in the correct mindset for when she gets her own card.
Hopefully by then she can apply for an unsecured card and will not have to go the secured route.
She needs to understand it's a process and those CCs are tools. Not just something that is used to buy items from a certain store.
She'll be much further ahead if she allows you to jump start her credit. There's no need for her to have the actual CC's or app for her own until she understands that.
Building credit may be a marathon as mentioned in the forums regularly. I'd much rather have a bicycle ride for a few blocks, if it helps me reach my destination a little sooner. Lol
You have an opportunity to truly help her. She can use the method I posted above and have tier 1 credit in a year. Or she can start like most people and spend the next 5 years or longer trying to get to the same level of credit. Some of us have spent our entire lives trying to figure out how to get to that level. She can have it much much sooner. That's if she learns to think outside of the box.
I don't have any kids yet, but I did add my sister (who was 19 at the time) as an AU on my Capital One card. I eventually took her off that (combined my Cap One card so that one closed) and put her on my Platinum a few months later. After about 2 years she had a solid history and was able to get her own card though she is still on my Platinum since we frequent Delta Skyclubs. I told her 'Hey, I'm going to add you to my credit card so your credit can start getting built up. I'll just hide or cut up the card.' She said 'Okay, works for me!'
Once I do have kids in another year or two, I will get them added to my best card and let that build up. Then I'll let them know for their 18th birthday that I have given them 18 years of good credit 
Beats buying them a brand new car, right? Lol!