Bank Accounts for Kids

Today is my middle child's birthday. To "celebrate" we went and opened bank accounts for her and my older daughter. They both get money for their birthdays and up until now they haven't had accounts. At my daughter's birthday party, her grandfather asked if she had an account, which sparked a whole discussion on banks and what's wrong with them today.

Well, it turns out that I'm not the only one that had a hard time finding a FREE savings account for a kid. Most banks charge monthly maintenance fees for kids if they don't have direct deposit going into the account. I think it's supposed to encourage the parents to put something aside for the kids each month, but really - is that a good idea?? If it were their allowance, then sure, but my kids are young. Allowance isn't really a "thing" yet, and I'd rather treat allowance as a reward for chores rather than a sure thing.

After some searching, I found a local savings bank that has a kids savings account option with no fees and no minimum balance. Here's some of the perks:

• no fees
• no minimum balance
• interest on balances over $10
• a gift with each deposit
• a gift on the child's birthday

We opened the accounts and my daughters each got their own deposit books and bank ID cards. Now, when they're 16 and looking at cars, they'll have a little something set aside to help them with the costs. All of their birthday money, holiday money and other money will go right into the account so they should have a nice little nest egg when they're old enough to need it.

Do your kids have bank accounts? Did you have a hard time finding a bank that didn't charge a monthly maintenance fee?