The cost of raising a child

The true cost of a kid comes to £186k
New Research reveals that raising a child will cost over £250k by 2012


The cost of raising a child has risen by a third in the last five years according to a study released today. This means that raising a child in the UK now costs a staggering £186k between birth and the age of 21. Unfortunately, this figure will only rise in the future and by the time the Olympics are with us in 2012, it is anticipated to rocket by a massive 42%. This means it will cost over £250k to raise just one child, putting parents under serious financial pressure.

The annual LV Cost of a Child survey, which began in 2003, also shows that getting other people to look after the kids is the biggest cost for parents, with childcare bills totalling a massive £50k. Education was second on the list costing over £47k, including a £32k bill for a 3-year university course. The cost of raising a child doesn't stop there however, as kids eat their way through over £16k worth of food and grow out of over £12k of clothes.

Regionally across the UK, the research shows that parents in Central London spend the most on raising a child (£199,869), followed by Outer London (£199,578), and the South East (£195,396). Wales is the cheapest place to raise a child (£179,317), followed by the East Midlands (£180,298) and East England (£182,355).

All of these costs have had a serious impact on family finances and parents are seemingly becoming less generous as a result. Currently, UK children receive an average of £5469 in pocket money between the ages of 5 and 18. This is however a reduction on pocket monies by almost £50 when children received £5,518 over the same time period, accordingly to the 2006 study. Rather than tightening the purse strings when it comes to pocket money, parents need to start financial planning as early as possible to give their child the best possible opportunities.

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