Becoming parents certainly brings several important satisfactions, and a mix of feelings that that were not known before. However, becoming parents involves also other aspects, such as a greater responsibility and greater expenses. If you are planning a family, you might be interested in finding out the cost related to raising a child in the United Kingdom. As a matter of fact, in the last 4 years, these costs have risen by 21% compared to the last decade. But which items in the family budget weigh heaviestwhen raising a child? Let us have a look at them.
Main expenses
It goes without saying that most of the costs of raising a child in the UK vary according to the average standard of living of a family. However, the heaviest budget items are always the same, even when comparing two or more families with very different lifestyle standards. One of the main costs concerns the house, which, when there are children, must be sufficiently large to accommodate the whole family. Not inconsiderable sums are also spent on education, especially if one wants to enrol the offspring in a private school. It is true, however, that even those who send their children to a public school, which is completely free of charge, will have to foot the bill for items of various kinds: from meals to school textbooks, from possible field trips to everything needed for writing, drawing, and colouring. In the first years of life a significant cost must also be considered for the possible need to take advantage of babysitting and childcare services.
Cost increases over the last few years
For some years now, the ‘Play Luke Mum‘ survey has been carried out periodically, investigating precisely the amount of money required in the UK to raise a child. As we have already mentioned, this very survey showed an increase of more than 20% in expenditure over the last four years. Also, the ‘Cost for a child’ report highlighted these figures for 2021, which turned out to be the year in which the expenses for children faced by families were the highest ever since this study was carried out. Some of these expenses weigh heavily on the family budget, with increases never seen before. For example, if we consider the cost of renting a house large enough to accommodate a family in 2011, this expenditure is now more than 45% higher. Then the costs of toys, public transport subscriptions, broadband connection, vehicles, and childcare have risen significantly. We are talking about primary necessities and not expenses that can be considered superfluous, such as those incurred for a beach holiday or a new pair of skis, which have obviously increased anyway.
Cost of a child by age
It should be pointed out, however, that each child’s age presents quite different costs, with the lowest sums in the very first year of one’s child’s life. It is true that some expenses are incurred all at once in that period, especially in the first few weeks; but the weekly cost of the needs of a baby only a few months old is not particularly high. It then increases as the months and years go by. During the school period, expenses increase dramatically, albeit with important differences, related to the parents’ educational choices but also to the different inclinations of each. Even between the ages of 18 and 21, many families spend a significant budget on their children, while some are already moving away from home and building a life of their own.
