Childcare most costly aspect of raising children

Raising a child costs parents around £35,000 in the first 5 years of its life, research by Aviva has found.

The survey of more than 2,000 parents with children aged between 0-5 shows they spend an average of £7,026 a year on their child.

This works out at £586 a month and a total of £35,000 by the time they reach their fifth birthday.

The study reveals the most costly expenses associated with raising a child:

• childcare has the biggest impact on parents’ wallets, costing an average £95 a month or £1,140 a year
• parents spend £62.30 each month or£747.60 every year on equipment
• clothes cost £58 every month or £696 each year.

The research also shows that many parents are planning for their children’s financial futures:

• 52% have set up a savings account in their children’s names
• 37% have opened a Junior ISA or child trust fund
• 8% have begun saving for a house deposit for their children
• 8% have started saving into a university fund.

Louise Colley, protection director for Aviva, said:

“As every parent knows having children can be an expensive business, but it’s incredible to see how this stacks up over the years! This is why it’s so important for parents to consider how they might cover the cost of raising a child if they were to unexpectedly lose an income through illness or even worse, bereavement.”

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