Other options

Though I’d recommend freezing credit, you technically have other options to approach this problem.

Pay for it

Other companies - like Norton ↗ - offer credit monitoring and locking services for a monthly fee ($5.99 as of this writing).

These don’t really make sense in my mind, as you’re paying for something ($1,150 if monthly until age 16) that’s available as a free service.

In my brain, the equation goes something like this:

$1,150 (Norton cost) / 2 hours (freeze cost) = $575 / hour payoff

Websites like Credit Karma ↗ do offering free credit monitoring… but they say it’s limited to customers over 18 years old.

I’ve seen at least some mention online that you can lie about your kid’s age and sign them up, but I have not tried this yet.

Neither of the two options above felt super great, so that’s why I went ahead and freezing my kid’s credit.