Cost of child caring on the rise
Published On 10 November 2006
New figures indicate that the cost of raising a child has risen dramatically in the past four years. Liverpool Victoria's survey of parents found that the cost of rearing a child up to the age of 21 comes to a staggering £180,000, some 28 per cent higher than when the study was first undertaken in 2002 and nine per cent greater than this time last year
Childcare was found to be the main expense, at an average of £49,092 per child and the report also found that 61 per cent of parents both have to work to fund the cost of raising a son or daughter.
Nigel Snell, Liverpool Victoria’s communications director, remarked: "With the costs of raising a child in the UK having increased nine per cent over the past 12 months alone, parents need to be more switched on about their family finances than ever before.
"The earlier would-be-parents start thinking about the costs associated with bringing up a child, the sooner they can start saving to meet the expense."
The university years were found to be the most expensive for parents, with the average annual expense on offspring between the ages of 19 and 21 coming to £12,153.
