Almost 90% of Canadian children between the ages of eight and 12 are saving their money and one in four is already saving for their post-secondary education, according to the results of the BMO Intuition RESP Survey,

The survey, conducted last month with Canadian parents and their children, indicated that parents are saving too — almost 85 per cent of them. Two-thirds of parents and their children believe that they will be sharing the financial costs of the child’s post-secondary education.

This is a significant shift from a BMO Intuition survey conducted in 1999, which showed that 75% of Canadian parents felt it was their sole responsibility to pay.

“The BMO Intuition RESP Survey suggests that most Canadian children are learning early on from their parents about the importance of saving now for the things they want in the future,” said Linda Knight, vice president, BMO Mutual Funds.”

The most widely used post-secondary education savings tool in Canada is the Registered Education Savings Plan. Of those parents surveyed who indicated they do save, almost 43% have an RESP compared to 23 per cent using trust accounts. According to the survey, 91% of respondents were aware of RESPs, up from 77% in 1999.

“Parents can use all the help they can get in saving for their children’s education,” said Ms. Knight. “In support of the BMO Intuition RESP, we have created the BMO Intuition Planner, accessible through the Internet, for parents to determine how much their child’s future education will cost and how much they will need to save.”

The survey showed that parents and children are underestimating the cost of a four-year post secondary education, which economists estimate will be about $96,000 in 18 years time. Six out of ten parents believe the cost will be less than $60,000 and one third of their kids guessed less than $30,000.