We’ve teamed up with our friends at KidStart, the child savings experts to share both of our top tips on preparing your child or teen for education.
To start with we will take you through our furniture tips to encourage learning in your little one. Then the team at KidStart will take over to discuss their new app, Beanstalk, how you can get a free Wonderbly book when you save with them, how the app can help you save for your child’s future education and also teach them about finance.
Early Learning
From the moment they enter our world, babies begin to soak up everything around them including sounds, smells and the comforting touch of their new parents. We often think of education starting at school, but children learn so much at home before they even start at an early-years setting such as nursery or preschool.
There’s plenty you can do at home to help develop some of the skills they’ll strengthen in school and you probably already do some of these without even thinking about it! Having a toy box in your toddler’s bedroom or playroom is a great way to encourage organisational skills, getting them to count their toys as they tidy them away can get them used to numbers too.
Playing dress-up could help little ones get some practice in before having to wear school uniform. Buttons and laces can be tricky for toddlers, especially with the added experience of heading to a new nursery or school. By making it fun and interactive before it’s a necessity, you may be able to make it that little bit easier! Our Tidy Clothing Rack is ideal for boosting your tot’s independence, clothing is kept within arm’s reach and we’ve even included a height scale, so your child can keep track of just how big they’re getting!
Set up a Study Corner
Setting up a dedicated ‘study’ corner is a good way to keep little and big minds focused. For younger children this could simply be a table and chairs set where they can unleash their creativity.
For older children and teenagers, a study desk and chair of their own creates a solo space for them to revise or complete homework. Our height adjustable desks and chairs mean your child is supported and kept comfortable as they grow.
Reading at an Early Age
Get your little one excited about reading their favourite storybook at an early age. Although they won’t be able to read the words yet, it will get them used to seeing letters and associate objects with words! Why not set up a bookshelf in their bedroom or playroom so they can choose their own bedtime story?
Learning About Finances
Through running KidStart for the last 12 years we realised that the child savings market was broken, which was why we launched our own saving and investment app, Beanstalk. It allows parents to save for themselves and their children from one app. Packed with handy tools it makes it easy to save little and often and puts families in control.
We wanted to make sure the app was simple to understand as our aim was to make it accessible for all families, regardless of budget and investment knowledge. We also wanted to make it easy for parents to share with their children so they could see their savings grow.
At KidStart we believe it’s important to educate children about money from an early age, and with Beanstalk there are some great ways to do this:
- On the homepage of the app you can see all of the accounts you have open with an option to add a photo of the account holder, you can show your little one their JISA, the total they have saved and contributions
- It’s easy for friends and family to gift money, they can send personalised messages along with their top up, which you can show your child to get them excited about saving
- You can save your change with our Round Ups tool, an educational game to play with your child is to get them to work out the change that will be rounded up and put towards their savings
- The Beanstalk website has some handy tools too, including the blog and free JISA Guide
Saving for Your Child’s Future Education
As Beanstalk is a Junior ISA, the money is locked away until your child turns 18. This means that many families see it as a great way to save money for their kids as they can’t dip into it themselves.
As a stocks and shares JISA, Beanstalk allows you to allocate your savings between two funds: a “cash” fund which aims to track money market returns and a “shares” fund which aims to track global stock markets. Although investing is obviously riskier than putting money into a savings account, research suggests that over the long term shares can outperform cash. For example:. The Barclays Equity Gilt Study in 2019 showed that over 50 years, investing in UK shares would have returned 4.7% per year whereas cash would have returned 1.1% and that since 1899, shares would have outperformed cash over a 10 year period in all but 10 years.
This is something to keep in mind when you want to start saving for your children. f you’d like more information into KidStart you can find that here.
Please note: Capital at risk. As with any investment, the value can go down as well as up. Past performance is no indicator of future performance and the tax treatment of ISAs depends on your individual circumstances and may be subject to change in the future. Beanstalk is a trading name of KidStart Limited, authorised & regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (# 473606).
