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Cost of raising a child climbs to £210,000, up 50% since 2003

www.lv.com

24 February 2011

Cost of a child up 4.5% over the last year, ahead of official inflation rate of 4%
Over three-quarters (78%) of parents are feeling the pinch and making cutbacks due to financial pressures
A third (30%) of parents feel they will have to make cut-backs as a direct result of losing future Child Benefit payments
Rising university tuition fees in 2012 will add further pressure on parents
The cost of raising a child until their 21st birthday now totals more than £210,000, according to the annual Cost of a Child Report[1] from insurance, investment and retirement group LV=. This equates to £10,040 a year, £836 a month or £27.50 a day. Today's cost of raising a child is up 50% from LV='s first Cost of a Child Report in 2003[2].

The Report shows that the cost has increased by 4.5% in the last year, ahead of the official headline rate of inflation (CPI) at 4%[3] with childcare and education remaining the biggest expenditure, costing parents a mammoth £67,430 and £55,660 respectively over their offspring's childhood. The cost of education, which includes school uniforms, after-school clubs and university tuition fees (excludes any private school fees) has grown by 5.3% over the last year. Other areas of expenditure that have seen big increases in 2010 include clothing (up 11.7%), holidays (up 6.4%), food (up 5.9%) and personal care (which includes toiletries and bath equipment) (up 5.1%).