How encouraging children to save can help them succeed both personally and financially

It’s said that it’s never too early to teach children about money, and encouraging them to save from a young age is one of the best ways to develop their financial responsibility.

Learning to save money can be fun, engaging and have personal benefits for youngsters. Not only can they enjoy seeing how their hard work is rewarded when they receive pocket money for completing chores or getting good grades, they can also feel a sense of accomplishment when they finally reach the goals they’ve set themselves.

As part of our Children’s Savings Survey, we found that more than 44% (44.57%) of our savers talked about money with their parents or guardians when they were a child. And, it seems as though savers learnt the value of having conversations at such as young age with two-thirds of them (66.44%) now talking to children in their family or household about saving.

When your child or grandchild becomes more curious and starts to ask questions, such as how you afford items when you go shopping and where money comes from, it could be an ideal time to begin teaching them about the importance of saving money.

More than half (50.47%) of savers in our survey said they started saving between the ages of six and 10, but whatever age you decide is right to begin educating them, the most important thing to remember is to teach them in an age-appropriate way.

Even as adults there’s always a balance we have to maintain between things we want to buy and things we need to buy. If you’re concerned that pocket money may be wasted by a younger child on impulse purchases, you could choose to specifically aim for a longer-term goal such as a toy, game or book the child really wants, and agree with them that their pocket money is only to be used towards saving for that goal.

An older child however, may be more comfortable juggling short-term and long-term goals when making their purchase decisions. It could help to create a visual aid to show them the impact of their choices as their savings increase and decrease. A tracker chart can help to demonstrate the value of money to a child and help their goals feel more tangible.

Taking the time to teach children how to save money and help them practice spending in a responsible way could give them confidence and set them up for a future where they have the understanding they need to manage their finances.

To strengthen a child’s understanding of the value of saving for a long-term goal, you could open a savings account as a gift. This could support them in achieving their future goals, even when there’s flexibility as to what their goals may be.

When we spoke to savers in our survey, we found that 71.32% of them don’t currently save for a child in their family or household.

If you’re looking for a way to help a child save but you’re not sure how to do so, our Demelza children's savings account could help a child save for their future. It can only be opened by customers under the age of 18, and if an account is opened for a customer under the age of seven they’ll require an adult aged 18 or over to open and operate the account on their behalf. Additional deposits and withdrawals are also allowed with this account. If you’d like to see our full details, including any limits that apply, please visit our children’s savings account page.

By opening a Demelza children’s savings account with us, not only will you be helping a child in your family save for a larger financial goal but you’ll also be supporting a worthwhile children’s charity.

Demelza Hospice for Children receives an annual donation from Kent Reliance, equivalent to 0.25% of the total average balances held in these accounts, when you choose to open our children’s savings account. This support is vital in allowing the hospice to continue to provide end of life care and special memories to terminally ill children and their families throughout Kent, London and Sussex.

You can open a Demelza children’s savings account by post or in branch, and if you’d like to find out more you can contact us on 0345 122 0022 or visit our website.