Baby Christmas Money - what is it for?

vegasvisitor

I'm just curious. What do people think it is acceptable to do with money that a baby is given for Christmas or other occasions?

A few people I know have said they are buying things that I just don't agree with. One a highchair with baby's christening money, and the other a car seat.

Mabye I'm being stuffy....but I think it should go into baby's bank account. I'd be quite annoyed if I discovered money I had given to a baby was spent on something that should be paid for by the parents.

shellsuit

So long as it gets spent on the baby, does it matter what is bought with it?

Maybe Mum and Dad were only able to afford £20 to spend on a highchair, but with babies money, they can now afford a £50 highchair which will last a lot longer.

Maybe Mum and Dad spend £10 on babies shoes, but with babies money, they can afford to get Clarks shoes.

If the gifter wants the money spent on something specific, then they should just buy that item instead.

If the gifter wants the money saved, they should open their own savings account for the baby.

If I gave money to someone for a baby or child, I wouldn't care what it was spent on so long as it was for baby!

melorablack

My baby's Christmas money is going towards repairing our car as the head gasket went on Christmas Eve. It would be nice to put it in his bank account but I'm sure he would rather have a car to enable us to get to the shop to buy his food/nappies/put money on the gas and electricity cards so he can be warm etc than have hundreds of pounds sitting in an account he can't spend for years yet anyway.

1more?

my bubs is 5 months & i used some of the money she had when she was born to buy a stroller,
i would rather money i gave to a baby be used as i think people give money as gifts if the dont know what to buy
i think it also depends on the parents circumstance if i were a multi millionaire im sure i would of bought the stroller :rotfl:

Blobby8_2

melorablack wrote: »

My baby's Christmas money is going towards repairing our car as the head gasket went on Christmas Eve. It would be nice to put it in his bank account but I'm sure he would rather have a car to enable us to get to the shop to buy his food/nappies/put money on the gas and electricity cards so he can be warm etc than have hundreds of pounds sitting in an account he can't spend for years yet anyway.

Well he wont have a choice will he ? You want a car, not him.

SJP

When my DS was young we used to put his money in his bank account... However when we was brassic we spent it......

Things are different now, its ten years on and he has had the money we 'borrowed' from him times over....

I dont feel guilty for it, think my DS would be happier knowing we used his money to buy food/pay bills when we were going through a bad patch.....

I agree with what Shellsuit says....

Teenie_D

TBH if I was giving someone money for their baby I wouldn't necessarily expect it to go into an account. I would expect it to be used for things that the baby needed wether it be a high chair or clothes etc.

Tropez

If I gave money to someone for their baby for Xmas or any other event I wouldn't really mind what they spent it on, providing it did benefit their baby in some way. Putting it into a bank account for when the baby grows up is nice and all but it isn't particularly sensible if the family needs things for their baby *now* and I can see how important something like a car seat or high chair might be.

melorablack

Blobby8 wrote: »

Well he wont have a choice will he ? You want a car, not him.

Okay then, I'll put it in his bank account and we can all freeze when the gas runs out and starve when the food runs out because we can't get to the shops without a car (no public transport around here). But it doesn't matter because an extra 200 quid in his bank account will make all the difference once he's 18.

kegg_2

melorablack wrote: »

My baby's Christmas money is going towards repairing our car as the head gasket went on Christmas Eve. It would be nice to put it in his bank account but I'm sure he would rather have a car to enable us to get to the shop to buy his food/nappies/put money on the gas and electricity cards so he can be warm etc than have hundreds of pounds sitting in an account he can't spend for years yet anyway.

nothing wrong with borrowing the money to repair the car if you have no other way to find the money but i hope you intend to replace it as and when you are able.

If i gave cash to a child for christmas i would expect it to be put in their savings. If i wanted to contribute to buying a larger item like a pushchair or highchair then i would have given vouchers for mothercare.

Blobby8_2

melorablack wrote: »

Okay then, I'll put it in his bank account and we can all freeze when the gas runs out and starve when the food runs out because we can't get to the shops without a car (no public transport around here). But it doesn't matter because an extra 200 quid in his bank account will make all the difference once he's 18.

What would you do if he had been given presents ? Sold them ?