re: Savings Plan for Children - 529 vs. Other Options

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I too am curious on this. I’m hearing from videos online not to use for education below college. Is it safe to use for private school?

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Depends on the state, need to look at your states policy when using it for educational expenses below college.

With that said a few points to consider:
main reason to use a 529 in my opinion is for the tax deduction. My state allows up to $4000(8000 if MFJ) of tax deduction per beneficiary per year.

If you're in a situation where perhaps you are not truly saving 8000 per year, but maybe you're paying 6k+per year in elementary/highbschool tuition and maybe actually saving 2k . It can make some sense to consider funneling your tuition through the 529 to ensure you can maximize your states deduction.

Otherwise the other point is to obviously have tax free growth, in which case it makes sense to not use the funds for educational expenses below college to allow it to grow. The fact that you can convert unused portions to a roth is a great benefit now. But you can argue would you have been better offer just investing in a taxable brokerage and potentially obtaining better return which negated the benefits of the 529?