Great! I see lots of great posts and some ideas to try! I am not wed to our current system but it has worked well overall during these tween years. Once DS and DD hit the teenage years, it may make sense to implement some modifications. It is mainly with DD that I foresee possible struggles. So far, money for grades was the only argumentative exchange and that was a couple of months ago and I think she has accepted that I won't budge on that particular issue. DD is a spender and always wants stuff, particularly if she doesn't have to pay for it.
Anyhow, I feel better now and not so much a scrooge. It appears that my approach is fairly middle-of-the-road, at least among the responding parents here. Some of my kids' classmates are given far more than I am comfortable with providing. It seems excessive, to me at least, for 6th graders to walk in with a Starbucks drink every morning. I do believe that it is appropriate for my kids to contribute most of their merit scholarships to the costs of the camp even if I had already paid. However, I also wanted to reward them for the extra effort of preparing a strong application since that would affect the outcome. To be fair, DS was completely fine and even DD wasn't actually whining since she knew upfront - it was more a look of of longing and jokingly attempting to appropriate the funds.
Regarding savings and checking accounts, I had both as a minor and they are fairly common. Since minors do not have the legal capacity to contract, an adult will have to sign the paperwork as well. Some banks will automatically convert these trust accounts to a regular account while other banks will make you get a new account number.
