Roth IRA accounts allow investments to grow and be withdrawn tax free and are a great tool for middle class workers to build a financially stable retirement.
Most people do not start contributing to their IRA until later in life, so they benefit from the powerful force of compound interest for only a few decades.
A child who has earned income is also eligible for such an account (custodial), but only if the child works. Such a child benefits from astronomical returns of up to 6 decades of tax-free compound interest. Please remove the work requirement for children so parents can make contributions to their child's custodial IRAs.
See irakids dot com for info.
Do not make the kids ineligible for higher education funding benefits.
Consider accounts for future kids as birthrights too.