To think money given to your child should be saved for them?

Wow!

...I'm shocked at the number of folk who appeared to be thinking that YABU!

I think as long as the money is actually spent on the DC that is fair enough. It is obviously best if parents can save the money for the DC for when they are older. Not all parents can afford to do this. It is not acceptable to keep the money or throw it into the general household pot.

I see where you are coming from and it’s nice your not just spending it some parents will just do what they want with it as far as they are concerned the kids are too young to know I agree either buy them a gift or some clothes or save it. But if you went the zoo and there old enough to understand you could say here is some money from relatives you can buy yourself something from the shop.

Your children are very young. Before long they’ll get much more opinionated and have views on how they want to spend gifted money. We tend to do a mixture of short/medium term saving and spending on days out. I see the money that is gifted as for the benefit of my children but that benefit can be realised in lots of different ways.

I also think children need to learn how to spend money as well as to save it. One of the best lessons my 8 year old has had was spending her own money at summer fetes last year. First one, she spent her money in about 10 minutes on absolute shite and then was so disappointed she couldn’t do what she really wanted to do. Second one, she was much more careful and really thought about what would give her the best value and what she really wanted to do. I’d much rather my children learn with relatively small amounts now than go nuts at 18.

I will also say inflation is your enemy here. Unless you are investing or ensuring savings in high interest accounts that keep pace with inflation, there is an argument you get much better value by spending it now. Something that cost £100 in 2009 would now cost £160. If you only had it in an interest account paying 2% it would be worth £137. If that £100 had been invested with an average return of 5% it would be worth £222.

My DS often gets money for his birthday from family as it’s not that long after Christmas and we’ve used up all our toy/gift ideas.

They give this with the thought that we will use it to buy him some toys or something for the garden later in the year. I think if we didn’t buy him anything with the money and saved it all they would be a little disappointed as that wasn’t why they gave the gift

We save for my son separately, as do the GPs. Any money he is given is still kept separately so it’s only spent on him.

Any money given to us in our mother's presence was rapidly snatched away "for safekeeping" and used towards shoes and clothing.We didn't get a choice in that, but we were a big family & hard up like everyone else at the time so I understand now - didn't at the time, but it was nice to have new clothes that hadn't been worn by two older sisters before I got them .
I opened bank accounts for my two and when they were old enough to understand what money was they were given the choice to save or spend.

Thankyou.. nasty ass poster with shitty weird opinions doesn’t know how to reply 😆 I’ll let my kids know next time we have an amazing day at the zoo helped with money from family that I’m stealing from them! 😂😂

Well said!

Buying a present or day out for the child is fine.

When my eldest was a baby/toddler any money we got went on bills!

I put any money received for my child into her bank account and include a description of what it is - ie. Xmas money Grandma; lost tooth money; birthday money from godfather etc.

It’s her money, not mine. It will be nice for her to have done spending money and practice managing cash when she is a teen.

We do a mix, guided by what the relatives have said. My Dad gives them a cheque every Christmas and birthday which is to go in savings so we always do that.

Sometimes Grandma will give some cash and say it’s for a day out etc.

if it’s just cash in a card with no suggestions then I let the kids choose what to spend it on, with some guidance…. they like going to a toy or book shop to choose something.

Yeah..., she's not horrible by telling you the truth.

You just made a mad statement and can't back it up, so now you're lashing out instead of saying "yeah, fair cop"

ODFO. YOU are horrible.

Don't be ridiculous. As I said earlier my grandmother left me and my siblings money when she died, and my parents used it to pay for a holiday to Florida they couldn't have afforded otherwise. It wasn't "grim" and it would have never have occurred to me in a million years they were stealing "my" money. In fact I'm glad they used the money for that as I had I recieved it when I was 18, I'd have blown the lot of vodka, cigarettes and shoes.

I have no idea what my parents did with any money that I received when I was younger and I don't particularly care. If I did receive any as gifts then I trust my parents used it for something I probably needed at the time or for a day out.

Stealing from their kids? To spend it on a day out that otherwise wouldn’t happen without the gifted money? That would make the child happy? You are horrible

As a young adult I found out that I was a baby and child model (just catalogues and shops). When I asked my parents what happened to the money from my modelling I was told that they needed it so it had been spent at the time. Frankly as I know that my parents weren't struggling at the time (through family, not speculation) I was a bit gutted that it hadn't been put into a savings account to be handy for me in adult years or spent on something for me such as an activity, toys or holiday.

So I tend to agree with you that bar exceptional circumstances money for a child is for that child. My children each have savings accounts for that reason.

Further down the line a child would feel pretty lousy if great auntie Sue remarks on how she hopes her birthday fivers over the years will help them get something special and they realise that they never received even one.

We always used the children's money on them. When they were babies I remember putting some money gifts together and buying a smart trike. Larger gifts were always saved. I give money as a gift for the Recipient to buy something for themselves, not to save (however they can do that if they really wanted to!)

Oh so when you said "If money is given to the child then it’s theirs and should be put into a savings account" .... you actually meant "If money is given to the child with the express instruction it be saved, then it should be put into a savings account"

They do... But someone spending the £20 in a birthday card on some Lego for their children is not stealing.
Them buying a zoo ticket is not stealing.

Yeah, taking it and spending it on Stella and fags... stealing. But nobody is suggesting this is acceptable. Yet people are ridiculously saying that parents are stealing when they very very clearly aren't.

Well, people are freely accusing parents of stealing kids money, when they spend the money on the kids... Insane.

If the fiver said "here's £30 for their premium bonds/savings" fair enough. But ifit is given ina birthday card the parents are absolutely entitled to spend that much money in the kids however they want.

Implying people are stealing from children is madness.

Because twats DO steal from their children you thicko!

Obviously if they specify what it should be used for then yeah fine. That’s just common fucking sense. Stop with the straw-manning you over dramatic moose!

Until mine were teens I stuck all birthday money and cheques in their savings accounts. They had several accounts so I handed over the account details at various stages when things were needed - uni flat deposits, laptops etc

Nonsense. People give cash so the kids can have a present if their choice. You know Rafferty LOVES paw patrol, but you don't know what toys he already has, so you give £20 and say to mum "this is for a present". And parents buy him the Paw Patrol toy he's been after...

Why are people so fucking dense and jumping to "YoU'rE sTeALiNG from CHILDREEEEEEENNN""

Even when auntie gives your 3 year old ,£10 and tells you specifically to get him a Paw Patrol toy with it?
Or your siblings have clubbed together and given you £80 for the annual pass to the farm park they love??
Or if Granny gives them £1 each and says "buy yourself some sweets"

If the parents bought those... they're stealing??

Fucking bullshit is what you're taking.