KidStart claims the new account is one of the lowest cost Junior ISAs on the market with charges of 0.5 per cent and describes it  as “a pioneering no minimum commitment” stocks and shares Junior ISA. Parents can open an account with as little as £1.

According to KidStart research, eight in 10 (81 per cent) parents believe the government is failing families by providing inadequate support to help them prepare financially for their children’s futures.

KidStart helps its members with money back on their shopping in the form of allocations to saving accounts for their children, while they shop at more than 2,300 retailers including John Lewis, Tesco, Ebay, Amazon, TUI and Just Eat. Savings on shopping can be added directly to KidSave accounts.

KidSave ISAs can be opened and managed online with parents able to select a cash fund or share fund in whatever proportion they choose.

Julian Robson, KidStart co-founder, said: “The child savings market is broken and we’re changing that with our KidSave Junior ISA. Three-quarters (73 per cent) of parents fear their kids will face a tougher start to adult life than they did thanks to the higher costs of renting, buying property and rising tuition fees.

“But many parents don’t act on their good intentions and we know that a key reason for this reticence is child savings accounts are often seen as confusing, expensive and, worst of all, poor value.”

With four in 10 (43 per cent) of KidStart’s survey respondents claiming the inability to commit to a regular payment as a key deterrent to considering an investment savings account for their child, the KidSave JISA offers parents the flexibility to top up what they can, when they can.

Parents’ attitudes to risk was another barrier to opening a child investment account with a third (32 per cent) admitting to being more risk averse when it comes to investing for their child compared to investing for themselves.

With KidSave, members can choose to allocate contributions into two low-cost funds: Fidelity Global Index Fund which tracks the performance of global shares, and Legal & General Cash Trust Fund which tracks money market funds.

Parents choose which proportion of their money goes into which fund, thereby controlling the risk and potential return from the investment. The allocation can be changed at any time. As with all JISAs, the money in the account belongs to the child, but he or she cannot access it until they turn 18.

It’s not only parents who can use KidSave to put money away for the children they love: grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends can contribute to the KidSave JISA just as easily as parents.