Savings for Children

[Jauralane]

Hi there
Hoping someone with a bit of knowledge or experience can help here.
I'm looking to set up a savings account for my little one. At the moment a Junior Cash ISA seems like the best option as it is tax free and grandparents etc can pay into in directly.
While I'd like the account to be in her name, I'm not so keen on the idea that when she turns 18 she will be able to do whatever she wants with it. If I'd been given access to thousands of pounds when I was 18 I'm pretty sure I would have blown it on holidays and tat, whereas I'd like her to put it towards something that will put her in a good financial position.
I know it'll be her money and she may be more sensible than I was but I just want the best for her.
Has anyone got any experience/ advice they can offer?
TIA x

We've got a savings account for our son with Nationwide. It is linked to our current account so although in his name, it doesn't automatically get handed over to him until we make arrangements to do so.

Thanks @Pepperwand ... what's the name of that account?x

I have a savings account in my name which is earmarked for my children but I’ll decide when they can be given some money, ie, to buy a car or for a house deposit. It will still be my money though. It won’t be marketed as theirs when they’re old enough. DS has a junior isa in his own name for bday and Xmas cash he’s given which I’m just banking at the moment as he’s two and I’ll open number two his own isa when he's born in the autumn.

If you don’t use all of your own ISA allowance (20k per year) then you could put the money there. It’ll be in your name and you can decide when and how much to hand over.

You could also explore the option of setting up a trust (probably more worthwhile with large sums).

And put in a stock and shares ISA, cash ISAs just lose money against inflation.

I think it's called a future saver account. It's the only children's savings account that nationwide do nowadays I believe.

My DC have a savings account in their own name c/o me, in which goes their birthday/Christmas/christening money, which they will know about. I intend to encourage them to put 1/3 of their pocket money into their money box, that we will then go and pay in so they learn to save, and see the benefits of it when they want x toy. The account will become 'theirs' when they're 18.
I also have a savings account attached to my own account for each DC, which i put £80 per month into at present. They won't know about this until they want to buy a house / start a business etc. If I can keep it up until they're 18, they will have a little under £18k each to help them along in life.

Although money invested in a cash account will not decrease in value, cash accounts typically offer less potential for growth over the long-term than a stocks & shares account.

If your DD is very little then you have potentially 18 years of the money sitting there - make it work for her. Interest rates are so low on cash savings, it will hardly grow at all left in cash. You could open a Junior Stocks & Shares ISA (although you only really need to consider the tax-saving implications if your DD is likely to have an income of over 20k p a) and invest the money she gets in a spread of funds which could yield much more over nearly two decades.

You might also consider setting up a pension for her - just a small amount invested now has a lot of time (all being well) to grow and make a real difference to her pot and options later on. And she won't be able to get at that!