Financial capability is procedural knowledge, not information. It is built by making decisions and living with the consequences, and the only question is whether that learning happens while the amounts are small and you are still in the room, or at twenty-three with a first salary and nobody watching. A child who has never managed money will run their first experiment with their rent.

Structure it by age. Between seven and ten, a small weekly amount with one rule: you may spend it however you like, and there is no advance. Between eleven and fourteen, a monthly amount covering a defined category they already pester you for - snacks, data, small transport. Between fifteen and eighteen, a termly amount covering more, handed over against a written plan they present to you. Pay on a fixed date, and then do the difficult part, which is not rescuing them. The shortfall is the teacher; your top-up cancels the lesson.

Change your language while you are at it. We cannot afford it teaches scarcity and a low-grade shame. We are choosing the cheaper option because fees are due in September teaches trade-offs, planning and agency - and it lets a child see that constraint is something adults manage rather than suffer. Let them see a real decision occasionally, including one you got wrong.