Parents are often keen to set aside a sum of money, or start a regular savings plan for their children's future, but with rising household costs, and the scrapping of the child trust fund, many families are now putting future savings on hold.
With the cost of nappies, pocket money and school trips to fork out for, it can often seem like there are years to start saving for longer term costs such as university, a first car or contributing towards a deposit for a first house.
But those years in which your child goes from a liitle angel to a sulky teen can come round so quickly , it's important to start saving as early as possible for their future.
As the largest credit union in the UK, we've seen an increase of almost 12% in the amount being saved with us, despite tighter household costs. And many members are saving specifically for their children.
Children's accounts have suffered during the last few years with the drop in interest rates, but if parents shop around, there are still good deals to be found. Junior accounts here at Glasgow Credit Union receive the same dividend as adult savers, proposed at 3% for 2011.
Scotland seems to be leading the way for saving, putting away seven percent of their income each month - an average of £240 compared to the UK average of £232 a month.
While it's reassuring to see that many Scots are active savers, almost 40% of the country's families have no savings at all. This is a massive concern which has got to be addressed as almost three quarters of children classed as living in severe poverty live in families with no savings.
What many people don't realise is that the cost of bringing up a child until their 21st birthday has risen by 50% since 2003 - parents pay on average £203,000. That's equivalent to £26.50 a day.
Every parent wants the best for their child. The focus must now be to encourage those with no or little savings, especially new parents, to start planning for the future.