Kids
Kids savings for Canadian households
Raising kids in Canada is expensive — childcare waitlists, sports fees, school extras, and gear that outgrows itself. The goal is not to skip childhood. It is to buy once where you can, share when it makes sense, and notice the fees that stack quietly.
Safety
Secondhand gear that is still safe for kids
Car seats, cribs, helmets, and what to buy new.
Child care
Ontario's $22-a-day child care cap
The 2026 extension, the $19 average, and how to read an enrolled invoice.
Child care
$10-a-day child care by province
Where fees stand in 2026, and how to tell if a space is enrolled.
Benefits
Canada Child Benefit 2026–27
July maximums, the 2025 income year, and why a payment can change.
Holidays
Kids' holiday gifts on a budget
A per-child cap, ordinary-price checks, and toy recalls before you buy.
Hockey
The real cost of minor hockey
A season worksheet for registration, gear, travel, and fee help.
Activities
Kids' activities without overspending
Registration, gear, and the costs a poster fee leaves out.
Taxes, leave, and the school year
The CCB and RRSP link, child care and camp deductions, activity credits, parental leave, a baby's first year, and back-to-school costs.
Benefits
RRSP and the Canada Child Benefit
An RRSP deduction can change next July's CCB by lowering adjusted family net income. Rates from the CRA page.
Tax
Child care expenses on T778
Who claims, what counts, and the per-child limits in the Income Tax Act.
Tax
Children's activity credits by province
Quebec, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia amounts from the provincial pages. Check everywhere else.
Camps
Summer day camp and the deduction
Registration timing, the overnight weekly cap, and a labelled nine-week plan.
Leave
Standard and extended parental EI
The weekly rates, the shared weeks, and why the monthly amount is thinner.
Baby
A baby's first year
Gear to buy or borrow, benefits to apply for, and a labelled worksheet. No average.
School
Back-to-school supplies and fees
Ontario's fee rule, lunches, devices, and a labelled September total.
Halloween and celebrations
A Halloween plan for costumes, candy and decor, with Health Canada's costume safety points.
Child care by province, nannies, and custody
Quebec's reduced contribution and tax credit, B.C. and Alberta fees and help, hiring a nanny, before- and after-school care, the CCB in shared custody, and the eligible dependant credit.
Quebec
Quebec daycare: subsidized vs private
The $9.65 reduced contribution, the 2026 credit rates, and the new age limit.
B.C.
B.C. child care costs
$10 a Day sites, fee reductions up to $900, and the Affordable Child Care Benefit.
Alberta
Alberta child care costs
The $326.25 flat fee, optional fees, and the K to grade 6 subsidy.
Nanny
Hiring a nanny
Payroll account, 2026 CPP and EI, provincial rules, and the deduction.
School-age care
Before- and after-school care
Options, provincial help, and the child care deduction.
Custody
Shared custody and the CCB
40 to 60 percent of the time, half the benefit each, on each parent's income.
Tax credits
Eligible dependant credit
The $16,452 amount, one claim per home, and the custody and support rules.
Disability benefits, post-secondary, and teen money
The Child Disability Benefit and DTC, an RDSP for a child, RESP withdrawals, a first-year university budget, a teen's first job and TFSA, youth bank accounts, and allowance.
Disability
Child Disability Benefit and DTC
Form T2201, up to $3,480 a year, the under-18 supplement, and back payments.
RDSP
RDSP for a child
Up to $3,500 grant and $1,000 bond a year, carry-forward, and the 10-year holdback.
RESP
RESP withdrawals: EAP vs PSE
Which part is taxable, the $8,000 limit, and the order to withdraw.
Post-secondary
First-year university costs
Tuition, residence, books and one-time costs, plus RESP and credits.
Teens
A teen's first job
Pay stub deductions, filing for a refund, RRSP room, and the TFSA at 18.
Banking
Kids' and youth bank accounts
No-cost youth accounts, joint vs sole, and allowance apps.
Money skills
Allowance
Amount from what it covers, chores, and spend-save-give.
School costs and activities
School fees and fundraising rules, school lunches and the national food program, swimming lessons, activity fee assistance, music lessons, kids' skiing, and tutoring.
School costs
School fees and fundraising
What is required, what is optional, and what fundraising cannot pay for.
School costs
School lunches
Cost per packed lunch, school programs, and the national food program.
Activities
Swimming lessons
City programs, registration day, and fee assistance.
Activities
Activity fee assistance
City programs, Jumpstart and KidSport, club bursaries, and tax credits.
Activities
Music lessons
Private vs group, rent vs buy, and the extras.
Activities
Kids' skiing and snowboarding
The SnowStart Kidz Pass, season passes, lessons and seasonal leasing.
School costs
Tutoring
Free help to try first, paid tutoring with a goal, and the medical expense rule.
Pregnancy, baby costs and family fun
Pregnancy costs and provincial coverage, diapers by cost per change, infant formula safety and formats, birthday parties on a budget, and free and cheap family outings.
Pregnancy
Pregnancy costs
What provincial plans cover, what you pay, and EI maternity.
Baby costs
Diapers: cost per change
Cloth vs disposable, bulk vs subscription, and the one number to compare.
Baby costs
Infant formula costs
Store brands, formats and the safety rules that never bend.
Celebrations
Birthday parties on a budget
Venue vs home, guest count first, and goody-bag math.
Family outings
Free and cheap outings
Library passes, Parks Canada youth admission, free days and memberships.
Free winter activities
Tobogganing, free outdoor rinks and skate lending, Parks Canada youth admission and library passes, as of 7 Oct 2026.
