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Estimates vary on exactly how much it costs to raise a child in Britain today, but we’re basically talking about an extra mortgage from birth to 18. The investment platform Moneyfarm puts the cost, per child, at around £223,256. This works out at about £12,400 a year, or £1,030 a month.
When you consider that the average house price was £288,000 in June, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), that’s a significant investment – not least when most calculations do not take into account out-of-school childcare expenses and luxuries like holidays, gifts or hobbies.
If your children are anything like mine, then a large chunk of your family’s income is probably being spent on sports clubs, music lessons (that they never practise for) and DOWPs (Deliveroos Ordered Without Permission). And let’s not even get started on footwear.
If the mad end-of-summer dash for new school shoes wasn’t costly enough, the Bank of Mum and Dad now appears to be subsidising Generation Z’s obsession with Nike Air Forces and Jordan 4s. (Isn’t it odd how they’ll willingly let you drop a couple of hundred quid on retro gear from Urban Outfitters, but not even countenance the notion of wearing your Helly Hansen hand-me-downs?)
If you have children who refuse to spend their own pocket money then you’re not alone. Despite the cost of living crisis, a recent study found that youngsters are still able to prise ever increasing sums from their parents, receiving an inflation-busting 11pc increase in their average annual “income” last year.
Data based on the finances of more than 125,000 children using the NatWest Rooster Money pocket money app and prepaid debit card found the average amount of money parents handed to their children rose to £333.84 a year, or £6.42 a week.
This is despite pocket money routines becoming far less consistent, with only 57pc of children receiving a regular allowance – down from 65pc in 2021-22.
The bottom line is – the blighters are bleeding us dry. But what to do about it?
Without reverting back to the days of sending primary schoolers up chimneys, putting the children to work would appear to pay.
Average earnings from babysitting has leapt 24pc in the past 12 months to top £20. So if your children are not out there reading bedtime stories to your neighbour’s offspring, start drawing up that Facebook ad now. (According to the NSPCC, there is no legal age to babysit, but if 12-year-olds are not considered mature enough to be left alone for a long period of time then they probably shouldn’t be looking after other children either. Think 13 and above).
But there’s also scope for enterprising juniors to cash in in other ways.
Government figures show that 450,000 16-24 year-olds are running small businesses in the UK, and it’s becoming increasingly common for children to come up with their own money-making enterprises rather than getting a conventional Saturday job.
The latest Youth Economy Report from GoHenry, a pocket money app, shows children earned a total of £148m in 2021, with average weekly earnings now standing at £8.20 per child.
This represents a 9pc increase in earnings per child since 2020, which is more than double the average weekly wage growth for UK adults (4pc) in the same period. Ideas for budding entrepreneurs extend well beyond car washing and lemonade stands these days, with tech savvy teenagers cashing on by providing online tutoring and social media services.
Online selling is also a growing industry for youngsters, with a quarter earning money by flogging items on websites like eBay and Vinted. (You must be at least 18 years old to be an eBay or Vinted member, but a minor can use an adult’s account with the permission of the account holder. However, the account holder is ultimately responsible).
If your children have expensive tastes, certainly get them buying second hand on sites like Vinted and Depop, where good quality branded clothes are on sale for much less than the retail price.
Another money saving trick I’ve learned recently is negotiating their Sim-only mobile phone contracts to include subscriptions to music streaming services like Spotify. (Sim-only deals always prove cheaper in the long run, combined with buying a second-hand phone online or on the high street, where you shouldn’t be afraid of haggling – not least when your teen is liable to smash the screen within the first month of ownership).
There’s no shame in being a penny-pinching parent. Ultimately children only learn the value of money when they’re taught how hard it is to earn and how easy it is to spend.
Our children are bleeding us dry
There’s no shame in being a penny-pinching parent when the costs are soaring