The best ways to save for your child's future

With child trust funds soon to disappear, how should you save for your child's future? Ruth Jackson picks the best savings accounts around at the moment for children.

It's the beginning of the end for child trust funds (CTF). In January they will disappear completely, but they are already being curtailed. Any babies born from 1 August will still get one, but the government contribution has dropped from £250 to £50. Lower income families will receive £100 rather than £500. And the top-up for seven-year-olds has been scrapped. So with CTFs fast becoming a thing of the past, how should you be saving for your child's future?

If you want to teach your child the benefits of saving but are also happy for them to access the cash over a relatively short time frame, then a regular savings account is a decent option. These accounts allow you to pay in a certain amount each month and some offer good interest rates over a year. The best of the bunch is Halifax's Children's Regular Saver. It pays 6% and you can deposit between £10 and £100 each month in the account. After 12 months the account matures and your money will be moved into an easy-access savings account. So be ready to shift it to another account offering a better rate if you aren't going to spend it.

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Ruth Jackson-Kirby

Ruth Jackson-Kirby is a freelance personal finance journalist with 17 years’ experience, writing about everything from savings accounts and credit cards to pensions, property and pet insurance.

Ruth started her career at MoneyWeek after graduating with an MA from the University of St Andrews, and she continues to contribute regular articles to our personal finance section. After leaving MoneyWeek she went on to become deputy editor of Moneywise before becoming a freelance journalist.

Ruth writes regularly for national publications including The Sunday Times, The Times, The Mail on Sunday and Good Housekeeping, among many other titles both online and offline.