New research claims children cost £210,000

The cost of raising a child until their 21 birthday has soared to a staggering £210,000.

The claim comes from insurance group LV= and is based on their annual Cost of a Child Report. 

The figures break down to £836 a month or £27.50 every day.

But the report found that the most expensive time was during the university years, when the ‘children’ really should be out flipping those burgers in the part time job.

It also calculated that new parents fork out  a staggering £9,152 for the first year of their child’s life.

They then pay a further £53,586 between the ages of one and four.

The breakdown for age was found to be:

First year – £9,491
Age 1 to 4 – £53,586
Age 5 to 10 – £56,856
Age 11 to 17 – £47,820
Age 18 to 21 – £43,094

Childcare and babysitting was found to add up to £67,430, education (not private) £55,660, clothing £15,683 and hobbies and toys £10,565.

LV= head of protection, Mark Jones said: “Parents are all too aware that having a child comes with a hefty bill when you factor in things like childcare, schooling and holidays over a 21 year stretch. Childcare and education must feel like another mortgage payment for some parents as this is still the biggest outlay and shows no signs of slowing down, particularly when many universities are set to increase tuition fees up to £9,000 a year from 2012. Despite this, I don’t think any parent would begrudge any spending on their children and savvy ways to reduce costs and protect income are all sensible measures to consider.”

Chopsy Comment
Clearly, these are children who are not raised in homes where George at Asda is standard wear and a trip to the park is reserved for the proles.

There is no way the average child will cost their parents even half this sum. The research is only going to frighten those eager to have children but are putting it off until later in life until they can afford it.

No average family can afford this amount making the research a dangerous headline grabber.