10/10/2014
£83,600: The Cost of Raising a Child to Age 11
Childcare makes up for almost half the overall cost
The average cost of raising a child to secondary school age stands at almost £85,000
according to the latest Halifax Cost of Children research. Within this, childcare is the single
most expensive element of raising a child in their early years and at £41,139 accounts for
almost half of the overall cost.
Parents were asked what their monthly expenditure was on a number of items, including
food, clothing, schooling and toys i; which were combined with the average childcare cost ii to
create an overall figure. The results indicate that parents are spending on average over
£600 a month (£633.54) and £7,500 a year (£7,602.50) per child up until the age of 11.
2014 AVERAGE
MONTHLY COSTS
TABLE 1
Food
£77.41
Schooling
£44.85
Holidays
£59.17
Clothes
£38.81
Toys
£23.42
Leisure & hobbies
£39.23
Furniture
£18.35
Personal Care
£20.64
Childcare
£311.66
TOTAL
£633.54
ANNUAL COST
TOTAL
COST
NEWBORN TO 11
£7,602.50
FROM
£83,627.46
Childcare costs the largest burden for parents
Across all regions childcare costs account for almost half of the monthly cost of a child at
over £300 a month (£311). The second largest expense is food, but at an average of £77 a
month, this is only a quarter of the monthly spend dedicated to childcare.
Parents in London incur the highest average monthly cost for childcare at £386; the capital is
followed by South England (£330). North England has the lowest average monthly cost of
£289 – almost £100 lower than in London.
Halifax Press Team:
Lauren Jones: 02074404579 / 07825 584900 [email protected]
Claire Barratt:0207 661 4668 / 07867814168 [email protected]
Ben Marquand: 0207 356 1838 / 07881 311199 [email protected]
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10/10/2014
Childcare is most expensive in the early years, averaging over £400 a month for the first four
years, and dropping to under £200 in the latter years. (See table 3)
Parents spend the most in the first year
Children will cost their parents the most in the first year of their life, with parents shelling out
over £8,500 in the first year alone on average. This drops to a low of £6,489 for a child aged
between 5-8 years, where childcare costs dramatically reduce.
Food costs rise gradually with age, being most expensive for parents with children aged
between 9 and 11, where monthly spend tops £87. Holidays are the second biggest cost for
parents, reaching its peak for parents of children aged 5-8 years old (£71 per month).
Richard Fearon, Head of Halifax Savings, says: “It is no exaggeration that having children
is a huge commitment, the stark reality of how much it could cost you over the long term
should not be underestimated. The initial outlay can be a burden in the first year, but
childcare remains a big expense through those early years, meaning careful financial
planning is essential.”
More capital needed to grow up in the capital
The cost of raising a child varies hugely across the regions, with children growing up in
London costing their parents on average £110,500, over £25,000 more than the average. In
comparison, this falls to £76,000 in the East of England.
Parents in London spend almost double that of parents in the East of England on holidays,
paying £85 compared to £45. Additionally they pay out over two and a half times the
average on furniture for their child, and spend more than two times as much as parents in
the West of England & Wales on personal care (£16 in Wales/West England compared to
£34 in London). (See table 2)
Richard Fearon adds: “Regardless of where you live, raising a child is going to make a
huge difference to your family’s finances. Many parents may find it hard to prioritise saving
with so many other commitments to worry about, however it is vital that families also plan for
that rainy day.”
Ends
Halifax Press Team:
Lauren Jones: 02074404579 / 07825 584900 [email protected]
Claire Barratt:0207 661 4668 / 07867814168 [email protected]
Ben Marquand: 0207 356 1838 / 07881 311199 [email protected]
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10/10/2014
TABLE 2
MONTHLY COSTS BY REGION: 2014 RESULTS
Scotland
North
England
Food
£ 88.20
£ 74.41
£
77.78
£
65.29
£
81.15
£
85.38
Schooling
£ 38.97
£ 43.51
£
41.74
£
33.43
£
50.97
£
59.40
Holidays
£ 52.58
£ 59.27
£
50.79
£
45.83
£
62.45
£
85.21
Clothes
£ 39.28
£ 37.84
£
34.25
£
36.74
£
34.62
£
56.74
Toys
£ 28.92
£ 24.26
£
20.51
£
20.22
£
18.17
£
36.21
Leisure &
hobbies
£ 38.42
£ 37.11
£
40.07
£
33.04
£
41.43
£
46.84
Furniture
£ 15.73
£ 18.07
£
11.21
£
13.41
£
13.19
£
46.75
Personal Care
Childcare
£ 21.71
£295.93
£ 19.13
£289.36
£ 16.40
£298.19
£ 17.03
£310.43
£ 20.07
£329.87
£ 34.28
£386.06
TOTAL
£619.74
£602.96
£590.94
£575.42
£651.92
£836.87
£7,436.82
£7,235.49
£7,091.29
£6,904.98
£7,823.08
£10,042.42
ANNUAL COST
TABLE 3
Wales & West
England
South
England
East England
London
MONTHLY COSTS BY AGE: 2014 RESULTS
Baby (0-12
months)
Toddler (12-24
months)
Infant (2-4 years)
Child (5-8 years)
Child (9-11
years)
Food
£
65.83
£
67.52
£
73.85
£
80.88
£
87.36
Schooling
£
25.14
£
26.84
£
40.58
£
51.43
£
52.19
Holidays
£
45.56
£
33.23
£
56.54
£
71.33
£
69.84
Clothes
£
40.74
£
32.24
£
31.43
£
38.22
£
44.50
Toys
£
24.23
£
18.62
£
19.51
£
26.28
£
22.13
Leisure &
hobbies
£
30.47
£
28.26
£
32.79
£
41.17
£
49.04
Furniture
£
21.47
£
14.66
£
11.84
£
20.14
£
19.86
Personal Care
£
36.18
£
24.91
£
20.55
£
18.58
£
17.38
Childcare
£419.32
£419.32
£412.08
£192.76
£192.76
TOTAL
ANNUAL
COST
£708.94
£665.60
£699.17
£540.79
£555.06
£8,507.28
£7,987.20
£8,390.04
£6,489.48
£6,660.72
Notes to editors:
i
Research undertaken amongst 1,000 parents of 0-11 year olds by Marketing Sciences through
online fieldwork between 5th – 18th September 2014.
ii
Childcare costs from the Childcare Costs Survey 2014 by the Family and Childcare Trust.
Regional classification: North England includes the North East, North West and Yorkshire and the
Humber; Wales and West England includes West Midlands as well as Wales; East England is East of
England and East Midlands; and South England is composed of the South East and South West.
Halifax Press Team:
Lauren Jones: 02074404579 / 07825 584900 [email protected]
Claire Barratt:0207 661 4668 / 07867814168 [email protected]
Ben Marquand: 0207 356 1838 / 07881 311199 [email protected]
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