11-16 Bank Accounts

[katel]

Why on earth shouldn't a child open a bank account? They aen't going to get credit, so no chance of debt.

I am glad about the contraception - if my child felt he/she couldn't talk to me about it then I would far rather they got contraception than didn't! Ditto - although it is a completely different thing and breaks my heart even to think about it - getting an abortion.

[stevew61]

I wonder what will happen if the child has a card where they can get overdrawn and then those charges start mounting

You can not enter into a credit agreement until 18 years of age?

We arranged a pre-paid mastercard for DS1 at age 13 as he hated carrying cash scared of losing it. It is a family emergency card, I have one in the car. Apart from flashing it to his friends he has failed to use it to buy anything or take money from a cash point preferring to walk home when out of cash. Mind you he has two mobile phones one to expensive he says to take out, the free one is never charged. Horses and water.

[wonderwoman]

At what age did you start letting them sort out own lunches and bits and bobs?

Similar to Hermanmunster - breakfast is a help yourself affair, but they must have something before school and before 10am on non-school days. I have always hated sorting packed lunches, so they started packing these quite young and I have insisted since they started school that they wash and clean out lunch boxes. Hot dinners are great They have bought their own lunches since going to secondary school. I'm not heartless though - if they run out of money they can make and take a simple, boring lunch - sandwich, fruit and water from the tap. I don't want all the money spent on shoes.

They also have to fund their busy social lives - no money; no go. This has saved us a fortune.

I like my DCs to be independent and to make their own decisions (they often discuss them with us first), it's part of growing into a responsible adult. Of course you might just think it's laziness on my part

[inkypinkyponky]

3 of our DC have these types of account. I think they're great - they can't get credit so must have money in the account. We pay them an allowance each month, directly into their account, and they have to sort out lunch money etc. One has built up quite a balance, another has found it difficult and regularly has nothing left at the end of the month, but does have lovely shoes

ROFL!

[KB]

At least one major High Street Bank issues under 18s with Electron Visa cards.
A word of warning - there are a places these cannot be used, including quite importantly, railway stations.


(Is it really the case that children can have abortions without parental consent - surely its a medical procedure?)

[mitasol]

Parental consent is not required.

Young women under the age of 16 may seek abortion information without parental consent. A young woman under the age of 16 may also have an abortion without parental consent if her doctors determine that she meets the Fraser Guidelines:

* She understands the medical professional's advice.
* She can not be persuaded to inform her parents.
* She is competent to give consent to the treatment.
* It is in her best interest not to inform her parents.

[hermanmunster]

(Is it really the case that children can have abortions without parental consent - surely its a medical procedure?)

Consent is an interesting topic... to give consent one needs to understand the procedure and the pros and cons - kids can understand this fairly early and hence consent is not needed. I see kids without their parents (when they are on school trips) and it can be a case of "Shall i put a plaster on the cut / give you some calpol / listen to your chest" ... i certainly don't phone the parents to ask! or indeed look at the consent forms schools send to parents. equally if it was a matter of life and limb it is a case of "get on with it".

Concerning elective treatment eg abortion / hernia repair / dental care, it is the case that kids who understand can CONSENT but not DISSENT. ie they can say yes to surgery but can't say no if the parents wish it (actually has been done in case of girl declining heart transplant where it went to the high court and her views were upheld, she later changed her mind which of course she is entitled to do at any stage)

[Amber]

That is interesting Herman. I taught a young man last year, who was 15 and was recovering from pretty major surgery on his spine. He had already undergone several operations for the same problem but had not wanted this particular operation - he was fed up with pain and long periods in hospital and out of school. Without surgery there was a high risk of permanent impairment and possibly even paralysis. He definitely understood all that and still did not want the surgery. I am not sure of the ins and outs as I came in post-operatively, but I think counsellors and mediators had been involved, as his parents obviously did want very much for him to have the surgery. The sad outcome really was that the relationship with his parents had become very tense and there was a lot of animosity on his part as he felt that he had been entirely disempowered and his wishes overridden. The relationship with one parent had as good as broken down. Very difficult situation.

I have changed a couple of details here as I am very aware of confidentiality issues!

[Sally-Anne]

Back on topic (hem hem), one point to watch for with bank accounts for children is the frequency of statements. Our bank said that he would only get a statement every 6 months which is no earthly good for teaching them how to monitor their spending. I kicked up a fuss and he now gets a statement every two months. I still think that is pretty poor, but it is an improvement at least.

The other thing is that when we opened the account we were not automatically given the form to enable him to receive interest tax-free, so the Revenue stole a few pounds from him before we got that sorted out.

[Amber]

Back on topic (hem hem)

Yes, OK: but I was only answering another point and it is quite interesting...