I do not have any children, so this discussion will be largely academic. However, if I had children, I believe that instilling the proper financial values so that children know what to expect from money is much more valuable than a 529 plan or any kind of donation, gift, or allowance.
My parents saved about $16000 for me to spend on my education. However, through their actions they also taught me how not to spend money that I had not earned and that I had to save if I wanted something. Thus I did not spend that money on my education figuring that I should not use it because I had not earned it. After some prodding on their part I did use about $1000 on some furniture, but that’s it. I did not touch the rest until I had learned enough about investments to grow it better than the savings account it was sitting in.
In retrospect, I would gladly have exchanged that sum of money with…
https://earlyretirementextreme.com/what-i-would-teach-a-child-about-savings.html