Why you should loan money to your children and not gift it to them. We all want to help our kids and give them the best start in life. This could be by gifting the deposit on a house or other moneys that they may need from time to time. However a more prudent option is to loan the money to your children and not gift it to them. This will help eliminate the concern if they end up in a messy divorce. If it is treated as a genuine loan then the parent should get the money back.