What’s The Best Bank Account For Your Children?

Experts advice that in order to raise money conscious kids, it is never to early to start teaching them the value of saving. This is were a bank account comes into play. This way, they see that credit and debit cards do not dispense free cash, and they understand that even the bank charges you to keep your money, so there is a cost to everything.

However, when choosing a bank for your kids, your own bank may not be suitable, here are 3 tips to consider

#1. Go For A No Fee Option:

It is most likely the case that you would want to go for an account with the least charges as possible. The HSBC Premier Youth Savings Account has no minimum balance, no monthly fee and unlimited transactions. The CIBC Premium Growth for Youth, the TD Youth Account, and the Scotiabank Getting There Youth Account only charge for ATM withdrawals from other banks. Tangerine and PC Financial also have regular savings accounts with no fees, no minimum balance and no monthly fees, they’re both worth exploring.

#2. Set Up An Appointment:

Take your kid into the branch and inform him about what goes into opening a savings account.  This way, he sees how important it is to own an account and that there are people at the bank who can explain how things work. You’ll also get away from waiting in a long queue and the constant whining.

#3. Show Them Their Statements:

Explain to your kid how to read a statement, be it online or on paper to enable them get used to checking their balance.  As a matter of fact, the excitement grows every month from watching their balance increase as time goes on.

One thing I couldn’t find on my wish list was a bank with kid-friendly resources and account statements.  While many banks support financial literacy to varying extents, I had challenges finding a bank with kid-oriented tools or even in-branch services to enable them understand how their saving account operates, the power of interest over time and the benefits of savings.  This is one area the banks can improve upon.