# The child's money: structure and tools

**How should our child manage their own money?**

How your child learns to handle money: free spending, save-spend-give jars, a parent-matched savings plan, or a real bank account.

In short: Parents choose between 7 main approaches: Free spending; Save, spend and give jars; Parent-matched savings; Mandatory saving; cash; Bank account; Kids' debit app; Investing account. Evidence: your call. No outcome evidence picks a winner. Preference, culture, money and logistics decide. Best settled: school age.

- Area: Money, chores and responsibility
- Evidence: Your call
- Best settled: School age
- First published: 2026-10-03
- Last updated: 2026-10-05
- Page: https://www.raisingyourchild.com/topics/money-chores-and-responsibility--the-child-s-money-structure-and-tools

## The child's money: structure and tools: what are the options?

1. **Free spending**: The child spends their money however they wish.
2. **Save, spend and give jars**: The child divides money into three containers for saving, spending and giving.
3. **Parent-matched savings**: You add to whatever the child saves.
4. **Mandatory saving; cash**: The child must save a set share, and money is handled as cash.
5. **Bank account**: The child has a bank account.
6. **Kids' debit app**: The child has a prepaid card and app that you can oversee.
7. **Investing account**: The child has an account that holds stocks or funds.

## The child's money: structure and tools: what does the evidence say?

**Your call.** No outcome evidence picks a winner. Preference, culture, money and logistics decide.

Childhood bank accounts with parental monitoring went with better adult financial habits

Sources:

- [AFCPE](https://www.afcpe.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/v24_1_61-79.pdf)

## What else is worth knowing?

Once a child has money, you decide how much control they have and what tools they use. Jars and cash make money visible to young children; cards and accounts suit older ones. Letting a child make small mistakes is part of learning.

## Questions to ask each other

- What do we want our child to learn about money first?
- Would we use jars, a bank account or a card?
- How will we handle mistakes with money?

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General information, not medical advice. Two parents can each answer this and compare: https://www.raisingyourchild.com/explore?cat=money-chores-and-responsibility&topic=money-chores-and-responsibility--the-child-s-money-structure-and-tools