What's a better investment....cd's or ira accounts?

I'm trying to put money away for my children.

IRA's are only for wage earners, so unless your children have jobs, you can't open one.

What you can do is open a broker account (Charles Schwab, Scott and Co., Merrill Lynch, and the like)for each child - Uniform Gift to Minors Account - and invest in high yield money market funds paying close to 8% versus CD's which pay 3-4%. You can make such contributions on a regular basis, or as circumstances permit. There is no set amount or timetable.

The earned dividends are not taxable to them until it amounts to $600 per year (check with the broker, I'm not sure of the amount.)
At age 18, the account belongs to the children and should be converted to their names.

Probably a Roth IRA because you could take some out without a penalty if you need some along the way.

It depends on a few variables and for the reason you are saving the money for the kids.

CD's are Certificates of Deposit, think of them as a locked savings account that you can only access every 6 months or a year. The return is in interest and the rates, though better now, are not very good. You will pay taxes on any interest earned, and you need to watch the fees when you sign up. Sometimes you end up paying more in fees than you earn in interest.

IRA's or Individual Retirement Accounts, can offer tax advantages now, but are generally taxable when you withdraw them later. The return on investment can be quite high, or quite low as returns are based on market values of the holdings of the IRA company.

If you are saving for their future schooling, look into 529 plans. They offer a tax break for the person depositing, work a lot like IRA plans and I believe will be tax free to the holder if the money is spent for an accredited education. They can also be rolled over into other plans if situations change.

It would probably be in your best interest to go and sit down with an investment advisor.

Good luck and are you adopting?