How to Open a Bank Account for a Child (And Why Earlier Is Better Than You Think)

Why Opening a Bank Account Early Actually Matters

There's a difference between talking to your kid about money and giving them a place to actually put it. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that kids who have savings accounts in their own names are three times more likely to have savings accounts as adults. Three times. That's not a small number.

My 9-year-old asked me last spring what her piggy bank money was "worth." She'd saved $47 in cash and she wanted to know if it was doing anything just sitting there. That question told me she was ready — not for a lecture about compound interest, but for a real account she could watch grow.

The 9–13 window is honestly the sweet spot. Your kid is old enough to understand basic concepts like deposits and balances, but young enough that you're still the one setting the rules. You get to shape the habit before peer pressure, debit cards, and impulse buys enter the picture.

What You Need to Open a Kids Bank Account

The paperwork is simpler than most parents expect. Because your child is a minor, you'll be a joint owner or custodian on the account — which means you need documents for both of you.

For your child, you'll typically need:

• Your child's Social Security number (SSN)
• Their date of birth
• Their full legal name (as it appears on official documents)
• Their current address (same as yours is fine)

For you (the parent or guardian):

• Government-issued photo ID — driver's license or passport
• Your own Social Security number
• Proof of address if opening in person (a utility bill works)
• An initial deposit — many accounts start with as little as $0 to $25

If you're opening the account online, most banks let you upload photos of your ID through their app. The whole process can take under 15 minutes if you have everything ready. I actually did this at my kitchen table after dinner — no trip to a branch required.

Custodial vs. Joint: Which Account Type Is Right?

This tripped me up when I was researching options for my own kids. There are two main structures for kids' bank accounts, and they're not the same thing.

Joint accounts make both you and your child equal legal owners of the money. Either of you can deposit or withdraw. These are the most common for kids in the 9–13 range because they're simple to open and give your kid real access to practice managing money.

Custodial accounts (UGMA/UTMA) are different — they're technically the child's property, managed by you until they hit a certain age (usually 18 or 21 depending on your state). These are more common for investment accounts than basic savings. Investopedia has a solid breakdown of UGMA vs. UTMA accounts if you want the full legal picture.

For a straightforward savings account for a 9–13 year old? A joint account at a bank that offers a dedicated youth product is usually the easiest and most practical starting point. Save the custodial investment account conversation for when your kid has a consistent savings habit already in place.

Best Bank Accounts for Kids Ages 9–13

Not all kids' accounts are created equal. Some charge monthly fees, some have no interest, and some don't have the digital features that actually make kids want to engage with their money. Here's what I look for — and what I'd actually recommend.

What to look for in a kids' bank account:

• No monthly fees (or fees easily waived)
• No minimum balance requirements — or a very low one
• A parent dashboard so you can monitor without hovering
• FDIC insurance (non-negotiable)
• A debit card option if your kid is 10+
• An interest rate above 0% — even if it's small

Solid options worth researching:

• Capital One MONEY account — No fees, no minimums, 0.10% APY, great app for kids and parents
• Chase First Banking — Free with a Chase account, good parental controls, debit card included
• Alliant Credit Union Kids Savings — 0.25% APY, but requires a $5 minimum deposit
• Acorns Early — Built specifically for families, with investment features layered in as your kid grows

If you want your kid's account to do more than just hold cash — and actually start building the habit of growing money — Acorns Early is worth a serious look. It's designed for parents who want banking and investing in one place, with features that grow with your kid. It's what I use for my own children's accounts.

Step-by-Step: How to Open the Account

Let's make this concrete. Here's exactly what the process looks like, whether you're doing it online or in person.

1. Choose your account type and bank. Use the criteria above. Online-only banks often have better rates and apps; traditional banks are easier if your kid wants to physically deposit birthday money at a teller.
2. Gather your documents. Your ID, your SSN, your child's SSN and birth date. Have these ready before you start — nothing is more annoying than getting halfway through an application and realizing you need to go find something.
3. Start the application. If online, go directly to the bank's website (not a third-party link) and look for "Youth Savings," "Kids Account," or "Teen Checking." If in person, call ahead to confirm what documents they need.
4. Fill in your child's info first, then yours. Most applications walk you through this in order. You'll be listed as the joint owner or custodian.
5. Make the initial deposit. Even $10 or $20 to start is fine. The goal is to open the account, not to fund it perfectly on day one.
6. Set up the parent dashboard and notifications. This is important. You want to get alerts when money moves so you can talk about it with your kid in real time — not discover it two weeks later.
7. Sit down with your kid and show them the account. Log in together. Show them the balance. Explain what the routing number is for. Make it a 10-minute conversation, not a lecture.

That last step is the one most parents skip. The account itself isn't the lesson — the conversation you have while looking at it together is. You don't need to be a finance expert. You just need to be there.

Once your kid has a savings account, pair it with a simple framework for how they split their money. Our 3-jar system guide is a great next step — it gives your kid a structure so they're not just saving everything or spending everything.

What School Doesn't Teach Your Kid About Banking

I spent 8 years as a middle school math teacher, and I can tell you with complete confidence: we never once covered how a checking account works. Not once. We did fractions and percentages, but never applied them to something as real as "this is what happens to your money if you overdraft."

According to the Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF), only about half of U.S. states require any personal finance education for high school graduation — and middle schoolers get almost none. That means the banking knowledge gap is real, and it falls on us as parents to fill it.

Here's what your kid probably won't learn in school — and what you can cover in one 15-minute conversation when you open the account together:

• What a routing number actually does — It identifies your specific bank branch. It's what you use when someone needs to send money directly to your account (like a paycheck someday).
• The difference between a savings and checking account — Savings earns interest and is meant to hold money. Checking is for spending. They're not interchangeable.
• Why FDIC insurance matters — If the bank fails (it has happened), the federal government insures up to $250,000 of your deposits. This is a big deal and takes 30 seconds to explain.
• What interest actually looks like on a real balance — If your kid has $100 in an account earning 0.25% APY, they'll earn $0.25 after a year. That's honest and unsexy — but it opens the door to talking about why higher-yield options exist.
• What overdraft fees are and how to avoid them — Banks charged Americans $7.7 billion in overdraft fees in 2022 alone. Your kid doesn't need to contribute to that number.

If your kid is 12 or older and starting to think about earning their own money, check out our guide on teen side hustle ideas — because having a place to put that money makes earning it feel even more real.

And if you want a platform that actually teaches these concepts while your kid banks, Acorns Early builds financial education right into the experience. It's one of the reasons I recommend it to parents who want more than just an account — they want their kid to actually understand what's happening with their money.

What Real Parents Are Asking Online

I spend a lot of time in parent forums and Reddit threads because honestly, that's where the real questions live — not in polished FAQs. Here's what parents are actually talking about when it comes to opening bank accounts for their kids.

"My 10-year-old got $200 in birthday money and I realized I had no idea what account to open for her. We've been letting her keep it in a jar for three months. Is it too late to start?"

— Reddit user, r/personalfinance

It's absolutely not too late. In fact, $200 is a great opening deposit because your kid can actually see a real balance and watch it grow. The jar phase is fine, but a real account makes money feel official — which changes how kids think about it.

"Does opening a savings account for my kid affect my credit score or taxes? I've been putting this off because I didn't know how it worked."

— Quora parent discussion

Opening a joint savings account for a child doesn't affect your credit score at all. For taxes: if your child earns more than $1,300 in interest income in a year (the 2024 "kiddie tax" threshold), you may need to report it. For most kids with modest savings balances, this isn't an issue — but it's worth knowing.

"My son keeps asking for a debit card but I'm nervous about giving a 11-year-old access to spend freely. Is there a way to let him have one with limits?"

— Facebook parenting group comment

Yes — and this is exactly why the parent dashboard feature matters so much. Banks like Chase First Banking and platforms like Acorns Early let you set spending limits, block certain merchant categories, and get instant notifications. Your kid gets the real experience; you keep the guardrails on. It's genuinely one of the best ways to teach spending decisions before the stakes get high.