The cost of raising a child reaches £218,000
Thursday, 26 January 2012 01:10
The cost of raising children is going up, according to a new study carried out by insurer LV=.
Its research found that parents will spend a record £218,024 on a child between birth and its 21st birthday, equating to £28.44 a day or £10,382 a year.
This figure has increased by 3.3 per cent in the past year alone and by a huge 55 per cent since the first Cost a Child Report was carried out back in 2003.
Childcare and education account for the biggest outgoings, with school uniform costs, university tuition fees and after-school clubs all featuring highly in a list of things that drain parents' finances.
The most costly age was found to be between 18 and 21, which is when youngsters go to university but can often still be quite dependent on their parents.
However, as the economy continues to bite, more mums and dads are attempting to rein in their spending and cut the cost of raising a child.
For example, spending on hobbies and toys is down by five per cent, while 34 per cent of the respondents said they are selling unwanted items to generate extra funds.
More than two-thirds of parents are also looking for value products in their weekly shop to drive down spending on food.
LV='s Mark Jones said: "It's clear that parents don't begrudge the money they spend on their children and would rather do without themselves than radically cut back on what they can provide."
Last September, a survey carried out by Save the Children and The Daycare Trust found that 24 per cent of parents are in debt because of the cost of things like nursery, with almost a third of their income going on paying for their youngsters to be looked after.
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