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PARKERSBURG - Whether it is teaching children the basics of saving or helping families set up a first bank account for their young ones, area banks are working to help children understand the importance of money and being able to put something aside now for when they will need it later.

Starting to teach young people now about the importance of saving helps them establish a foundation for making better financial decisions in the future, local banking officials said.

''The current economic situation has shown that individuals have relied too much on credit,'' said Larry Johnson, market president for WesBanco. ''When people are able to save, they are usually better off.''

Many area banks, including WesBanco and United Bank, have participated in the American Bankers Association Education Foundation's "Teach Children to Save" program where their employees have gone to elementary schools around the area and taught students some of the basics of finance, savings, budgeting and more.

"It is a great opportunity for our employees to get out into the community and work with the students," said Chad Mildren, market president of United Bank.

United Bank is also Partners-In-Education with Greenmont Elementary and they have been able to set up savings accounts for the students, along with their parents, and have a "bank" at the school every week where the students can bring in money, make deposits and do other basic banking.

"It is never too early to open an account," Mildren said. "As kids get an allowance, money for doing chores or for good grades, they can save money for a special occasion, like camp, vacation or to buy that special toy."

WesBanco is also involved in a program, "Get Smart About Credit," which teaches older children, in middle school and high school, about credit and how it works, Johnson said. WesBanco is Partners-In-Education with VanDevender Middle School.

WesBanco has a "School Savings" programs where they too go into the schools with basic banking programs where students are encouraged to deposit some of their allowances and birthday money into a savings account, Johnson said.

''We make ourselves available to teach students,'' Johnson said, adding they are teaching about the importance of saving, setting goals financially, not spending their money frivolously and having money available when they need it.

''We encourage the kids to save,'' he said. ''We want them to get in the habit of saving toward a goal they might have, whether it is to buy a new bike or a Wii.''

Each one of the school-based programs has to have parental participation and approval, officials said.

For many families, it is never too early to start saving for a child's future.

In the past, many parents and grandparents would buy a savings bond for new children to the family, Mildren said.

Although some people still do that, there are more people who are setting up a savings account for a new family member.

"Instead of a toy or a gift, they want to start an account for the child to help get a savings account started." Mildren said.

Others have started Smart 529 plans for their children and grandchildren to begin saving for their college education.

A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged savings plan designed to encourage families to save for college. Earnings on 529 investments accumulate tax-free, and distributions are tax-exempt as long as they are applied toward eligible education expenses such as tuition and room and board. The plans are named for the section of the federal tax code that governs them and are often sponsored by individual states and managed by a mutual fund or other financial services company.

"Savings accounts and 529 plans are the most popular right now," Mildren said.

It has become common, not only for parents but also for grandparents, to set up some kind of savings or investment plan for new children and grandchildren, said Paul R. Mancuso Jr., investment executive for Community Brokerage and Investment Services at Community Bank.

''There are several advantages to be realized for setting up the accounts early on in the child/grandchild's life,'' he said. ''In addition to the obvious advantage of getting started early to take full advantage of the compounding feature of investing/savings early, there can be tax advantages.''

There are some real tax advantages for grandparents to set up 529 savings plans for their grandchildren, Mancuso said adding parents can also receive these same tax advantages for setting up 529 plans for their children.

''Accounts can also be set up using the UTMA/UGMA Custodial arrangements,'' he said. ''These types of accounts also offer some different tax advantages and give the parents more flexibility as to how they want to use the money for the child.

''And as always, it is a good learning experience to teach a young child or grandchild the responsibility at an early age of how to handle their money. They learn to understand the value of a dollar and, hopefully, will be more responsible and prudent as they grow older and prepare for college and life in general.''