Children's savings - junior ISA?

[DuckDuckGoosieGander]

I do a regular saver each month for my 12 year old son (currently with Halifax) for £100 and then after the 12 month period transfer the amount to his savings account. I'm good at looking around and transferring between best rates etc.

I'm thinking about moving the money into a junior s&s ISA instead of a standard savings account. I'm thinking of also paying in an additional £100 a month for the next 5.5 years until he is 18. Would this be worthwhile as I've read they are for the long term to ride the highs and lows of the market but wonder if the period is too short?

I've had a google and saw Hargreaves Lansdown do not charge fees for junior ISAs but have no idea where to start with funds. I did one of their surveys and they recommend the LifeStrategy 60% equity fund.

Does anyone have experience of junior s&s ISAs over a shorter time period?

I've been saving for my toddler since she was born but 5 years certainly isn't too short a period of time. In fact, any decent advisor will tell you that you need to leave any money for at least 5 years to get a decent return. He may not want to spend it the minute he's able, remember. The market will virtually always outperform cash and rates are dropping.

I'm with AJ Bell and they have a good online magazine every month with specific articles about investing for children. Look for a passively managed tracker fund rather than an actively managed fund, the fee can take a big chunk if it doesn't perform that well! Look for global equity trackers and I'd say perhaps steer clear of individual shares if you more not confident as they can be much more volatile. The point of an ETF (exchange traded fund) is that its like a basket of lots of companies' shares, so if one does badly, the risk is spread and you won't have one big hit.
Most online platforms will have a fund appropriate for your level of risk
You might find this helpful https://www.ajbell.co.uk/investing-for-children/junior-isa

And this: https://www.ajbell.co.uk/investment-ideas/ajbell-funds

I was baffled when I started too but I came to really enjoy learning about the stock market.

@TotteringonGently thanks for your advice. I'd been looking at the Vanguard Global All Cap after trawling some threads and reading some articles. I'll have a read tomorrow of those you suggest.

I'm hoping this will be the start of longer-term savings for DS. He is quite sensible with money so far and has enjoyed watching his cash savings grow so will have those for a second hand car or the like when he turns 18.