When you know a baby is on the way, or you have a young child in your family, it can seem like a very good idea to start thinking about how you can make sure they will have a few financial worries as possible in later life. Whether you want to help pay for the child’s university education, their wedding, or help them buy their first home, there are probably things you’d like to help them have the resources for when they need them.

Putting money into a savings account for a child is something many families do, however this may not always be the way that will yield the best results for your child when they are older. But what other options are there?

Shares

One of the best options, if you do your research, can be shares. While many saving and investment funds are share-based, if you make your own share buying decisions you can often outperform them, and of course not have to pay fees. Online share trading has become very popular in recent years, and you may well find that if you read up enough and learn more about the markets, you may be able to invest in some long-term positions that will pay off well for the child you are investing for.

Utilising a stockbroker in Singapore for share trading can also be something fun and interesting to do that you can teach your child about as they grow up, using the shares they were bought as a way of explaining things.

Collectibles and Objects

Another way you can make investments that could benefit your child, later on, is to try to buy them things that will accumulate in value. Most children like toys and other things, like art and jewellery, which can rise in value as they age. By teaching your kids to take good care of their stuff, whether it is a toy car or a bracelet, you can give them things that will later be worth a lot of money but which can also be enjoyed now. This is something many adults do with things like art and vintage cars, and can also be something kids can get interested in when it relates to collectibles and toys.

Savings Accounts

Of course, if the idea of share trading doesn’t appeal to you and you don’t want the risk of investing in objects, then there is always the simplest idea – getting a savings account for your child and putting money into that. There are some accounts that offer good rates and another good part of this is that you can withdraw the money whenever needed in most cases – so your child won’t have to worry about selling things to access it when they do need it.

A savings account for a child can be extremely prudent, and you can also show your child the savings book and help them learn a bit about money while they are young in this way. The downside of this low-risk approach is that it won’t yield impressive results in terms of profits.

If you want to invest for the future of your child, the best option is often to combine the safe options with the riskier ones, so perhaps put money in an account yet also buy some shares!

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