My guess is there's a significant chunk of the population who, like me, simply don't own any credit cards. A quick search puts it around 25-30% of the US population. People do it for various reasons (don't qualify, don't believe in using them, etc.).
Debit cards are a convenient tool for these people.
If you use your debit card as credit, you get the same protection as a Visa/Mastercard credit card. Merchants and POS systems will generally steer you toward using it as debit (i.e. with PIN) because it's cheaper for them. If you feel bad about increased costs for merchants, use cash.
[I realize the parent didn't indicate that they themselves were in the "no credit card" camp, just thought it might be helpful information for someone].
You may get the same protection, but the debit card protection comes after you've lost the money from your checking/savings account. After checks may have bounced.
My guess is there's a significant chunk of the population who, like me, simply don't own any credit cards. A quick search puts it around 25-30% of the US population. People do it for various reasons (don't qualify, don't believe in using them, etc.).
Debit cards are a convenient tool for these people.