How much do you think a child costs per day?

[BackOnThatRollerCoaster]

Total cost - for everything that you think a child needs, and maybe some wants within reason. Thank you!

Well, I've seen estimates that a child costs £100,000 so that's probably about £16 a day...

Disclaimer: I have a feeling that that figure is from a decade or so ago

However, it's a ridiculous concept in the first place.

Quite apart from the fact that many people are obviously NOT spending that much (because their total income wouldn't cover the yearly amount for the number of children they have)

it's not a thing that happens per day.

No idea and it varies as our income has fluctuated.

I expect our primary aged children don't actually cost that much to keep alive. I expect clothing and shoes are our biggest outlay for our eldest and our youngest wears lots of hand-me-downs.

£3-5 a day to feed
£1 a day for clothes and shoes minimum
£1 extra curricular clubs (averaged out)
£1 books, toys, birthday/Christmas etc

Bigger house? More electricity/fuel? Bigger car? Parental career sacrifice? Transport?

£10 a day minium probably.

Depends how you want to work it out.

Eg - after school club + school lunch + extra curricular activity is probably about £25 per day, but that's not every day.

If I consider things that are just directly for the child (and no one else) then I'd say about £4900 per year (so £13 per day), but that doesn't include contribution to family food bill, larger house needed to accommodate child, associated utilities, higher cost of holidays, days out etc. Would you count savings for the child? Lost income from reduced career opportunities?

There's just too many variables to answer; but really, you spend what you can afford.

Cost per day for utilities - minimal
Cost per day over a year for toiletries, clothes, shoes, clubs, spends, phone, - £10?
Cost per day on my well being, mental health and emotional resources- priceless.
Disclaimer- I have a teenager in the grips of teenagerness

If you factor in the cost of years of childcare pre school and after school etc-OR loss of income to be a SAHP. And the cost of the bigger home you wouldn’t have needed or chosen necessarily if you were childfree, plus the cars, car seats, constant shoes, clubs, tat, food, consumer products, all of which increase each year, their university costs parents have to contribute to, etc.etc. Hundreds of thousands for their first two decades.

I dont think you could possibly say.

Everyone lives to their means. So a family who have a lot of money would spend much more per child per day than a family on a low income.

Depends on age as well. Ie a baby costs you not very much but a toddler in ft childcare costs quite a bit.

Too many variables.

I’d say about £12-£15 a day if you include food, toiletries, clothes and some entertainment and wants

Thank you for your replies, very helpful

Minimum:
Food £2 for my 6yo, £3 for 7yo (no free school lunches in y3), £2 for 12yo (veggie, not a big eater), £6 for 14yo.
Clothes/ shoes 50p-£1
Electricity- ?

Non-essential:
Bigger house, bigger mortgage so all have own rooms £2 a day each
After school club and breakfast club a couple of times a month for youngest 2 £1 a day average
Loss of earnings as reduced hours to work around dh and minimise childcare costs/ be here for them £700pcm so £23 per day (divided by 4 for me so just under £6)
Pocket money/ treats around 33p per day.

Wants:
Holiday 400ea per year so £1.10 ish a day
School trips £1.50 a day this year (average per child, 1 has an overseas trip)
Christmas/ birthdays/ parties: £1 a day
Clubs/ activities 50p

So, essential for us average £4/day
Essential and non essential average £5.30 per day per child
Essential, non essential and wants average £9.40 per day per child.

For me, the main cost comes in the form of lost earnings and lost career potential. If I hadn't had the DCs, I would be earning £45k+ per year... with them underfoot, I earn about a third of that. I don't think the actual day to day costs of feeding and clothing the DCs comes anywhere remotely near to that £30k annual difference.