By Richard Garner, Education Editor Independent
Tuesday, 23 February 2010

The cost of bringing up a child has risen to more than £200,000 for the first time, according to a survey released today.Figures show the average parent is likely to have forked out more than £201,000 per child by the time their offspring has reached the age of 21. The cost has increased 4 per cent over the past year and 43 per cent in the seven years since the survey was first launched. The biggest cost is childcare at £54,696 – which includes nursery fees, after school and holiday clubs – and education at £52,881. However, there were some signs that childcare costs are beginning to peak as they only went up by 1.6 per cent over the past 12 months. The cost per year of bringing up a child is now highest during the university years – aged 18 to 21 – following the introduction of tuition fees. It works out at £13,677 a year.
Campaigners said they were “not surprised” at the results of the survey.

Margaret Morrissey, from the pressure group www.parentsoutloud.com , said: “Historically, you didn’t have to expect to keep on raising a child until they were 21. “You saw them through their schooling and that was it. The cost of them continuing with their education is extremely expensive.” She added that the cost did not always end at 21, either, as “more and more youngsters were now returning to live with their parents after university as a result of the debts they had run up”. Aggressive advertising aimed at children had also made its mark on parents’ pockets. “Ten-year-old children are totally aware of all the things that you have to have to keep up with the other children and it’s very difficult for parents to stand out against them,” Ms Morrissey added. “Even if a school encourages its pupils to cycle to school in the interests of the environment, it costs in terms of the latest designer bicycle or scooter.”

The survey covered nearly 4,000 adults and was carried out during January. Perhaps unsurprisingly, parents in outer London faced the biggest cost is raising a child – £220,769. Yorkshire and Humberside was the cheapest place at £177,706.