The cost of bringing up a child has rocketed to £180,000, it is claimed today.
Research from financial services provider Liverpool Victoria, found that in the last year alone the cost of raising offspring from birth to the age of 21 rose by 9%. It has soared 28% in the past four years.
The new estimated cost to parents is £180,137, equivalent to £23.50 a day.
Childcare and education are the biggest expenditures, costing parents £49,092 and £46,778. The cost of schooling and putting a child through university has increased by 26% since last year, the report notes.
This has helped push the price of raising a child up at a rate outstripping inflation by almost four times.
The driving force behind rising education costs has been university. From the start of this academic year, undergraduates at English universities face paying £3,000 per course in tuition fees, up from £1,175.
The number of people in higher education had been steadily climbing but has eased more recently, with would-be students pointing the finger at rising costs.
The £180,000 figure rises to at least £250,000 for parents who choose to send their children through private education. Today’s study suggests parents of public school children can expect to spend an extra £71,000, if their child is a day pupil, or £130,500 more for boarding.
More parents are choosing to educate their children privately, with 615,000 pupils in independent schools compared to 507,000 in 2003. Costs have also been rising, with the most expensive schools now charging more than £20,000 a year. Read more.
Less well-off families are also striving harder to seek an alternative to state schools – a survey earlier this year found a quarter of privately educated children are from households with below average earnings.
The high price of starting a family has led to a cultural shift away from households having one working parent.
A survey found that in almost two-thirds of UK families, both parents have to work to cover the cost of bringing up a child. Almost half of all parents admitted to being concerned about the amount of time they spent away from their children.
In addition, 12% of working parents have to rely on grandparents or other family members for regular financial support to meet the costs of bringing up a child.
More than two-thirds of parents have had to put savings and financial planning on hold to pay for a child’s upbringing, while six out of 10 have had to change, cancel or postpone holidays or social plans, the research finds.
Nigel Snell, communications director at Liverpool Victoria, said: ‘With the costs of raising a child in the UK having increased 9% over the past 12 months alone, parents need to be more switched on about their family finances than ever before.
Step 2 –Learn how to control your spending. Read 50 ways to save money and then get more ideas about boosting your wealth here.
Step 5 –If your flush and flash then think about taking out a stakeholder pension for your child. It’s another tax break worth exploiting (although you may be gone when your child feels the benefit of your foresight). Read more.