Noticing when a child is ready to move toward the next stage of their development is as hard as actually letting them go. LittleZeek has just turned 11 and is currently going through her SATs. However, our eyes are looking ahead, and the next few months are all about helping her prepare for the transition to secondary school. As part of this, we have given her a GoHenry card – to allow her to manage her money better and stay safe.
LittleZeek with her GoHenry card and the app open on her Kindle Fire
GoHenry offers a prepaid debit card service, plus online/app tools to help parents and children communicate about money. There is a parent account, from which pocket money and chore rewards can be moved into the child account. Regular transfers (like weekly allowance) can be scheduled (and stopped). Chores can be detailed and different amounts can be set for specific monetary rewards.
LittleZeek can also set savings targets, for items she really wants – which we can boost as needed. The card can be used like a normal debit card, and has contactless payments. We can set daily and weekly limits, as well as where it can be used, Online/High St/ATMs. Importantly, parents can cancel the card with a swipe, and change passwords/pins for the child – so she won’t need to ring customer service if she loses any of those things!
This service costs nearly £2.50 per month, and we are going to test it till Xmas to see if it works out for us. You can order personalised, decorative cards but we just went for the plain one to start with. If she likes it, uses it, and we think it is working out – we’d happily upgrade to that later. But, it is not about a card as a fashion accessory – it is a functional service. Unlike LittlestZeek (8), LittleZeek struggles with saving her money – so we think it’s worth a go!
When we set up the service online, I tried to move money around, though it wasn’t clear that I needed to wait for the card (and activation codes) to arrive before I could make use of some of the features. The online chat /help was quick and very friendly, and explained why I was struggling.
Now that the card is here, we have installed the app onto LittleZeek’s new Kindle Fire (11th birthday pressie), so she can manage the account for herself, and start to plan how she’ll spend and save her money. Hopefully, we can relax a little.
She is very happy, and a little prouder and (even) taller now that she has her GoHenry card. It doesn’t just feel more grown up, it is more grown up. Yet, like most kids under 16, she still wants, and needs, the connection to us. The GoHenry service feels like a good balance for her and for us, and able to evolve with our changing needs. So, let’s see.
In the meantime, she is now set for some of the aspects of secondary school life, ie, getting there and back safely, and paying for her ‘wants’ (as opposed to needs) without driving us nuts. LittleZeek has bike, which she can ride around on safely. She has a very basic Nokia phone (another 11th birthday pressie – but not a smartphone/no camera – as what good can come from that combination when most of the schools take a ‘ban the evil new tech’ approach to kids and mobile. I should say, I wish this were different, but given the stories we all hear, I hope my caution makes sense), and the Kindle Fire for homework, communication and fun (at home). But most of all, she has a smart head on her shoulders. Evidence? Here it is…
This week, I packed her off to to a local class on her bike. On her own. For the first time. Gulp! I have shadowed her in the past few weeks, hanging back further and further behind her… so she knew I was there. But this week, I waved her out the door, her mobile, and GoHenry card in her bag – and felt confident that she’d be fine.
Of course, the moment she was out the door, I completely lost it… and could not believe I’d been so crazy as to let her out on her own… freaking out about all the bad stuff that could happen, – natch. So when I got a call from her on her mobile, to say she was fine and that she might pop into the shops on the way back… I nearly cried with relief and pride.
The GoHenry card, devices, bikes, and mobiles are great, but the best gifts we can give our kids are the critical faculties to navigate the world safely and the confidence to step forward as they grow.
Go LittleZeek, Grow!