When were your children most expensive?

[RoamingToaster]

I’ve noticed some people saying children are more expensive as they get older. Is that true for you? I’ve paid for nursery which is a lot so I’m hoping it’s not for me 😂. I’m curious what everyone’s experience has been.

£1100 for nursery per child,per month. I presumed this was the hard part,I cant believe uni will be more,i wasnt aware😔

God yeah, sod that, the loans and part time jobs -they are blinking adults when they go to uni !

living in London is really the only place I would think it’s easy not to drive and even at that people who don’t drive typically ask others for lifts! I see it as a life skill that’s necessary to learn, a bit like swimming.

We don't live in london or any city for that matter but we still have buses

From aged 13. On top of school fees, school trips, increased tuition and hobbies, they got more into fashion and wanted more tech. Then at 17 it was driving lessons, car, insurance, university.

The baby and toddler years were cheap by comparison and much shorter.

Or the studying adult choosing this pathway for themself, starts ‘adulting’ and works part time/3/4 time alongside their course and then full time saving as much as they can in the many, many weeks they get off on the average course.

This is how I assumed it was

Childminder costs - when they were both full time it was around £1800 per month. Then they went 3 days a week but only because DH dropped down to 3 days work for the same cost as the childcare so not really a saving.

Uni is approaching and that’ll start getting expensive again.

As older teens they’re pretty cheap really. Both stopped growing much age about 14/15 at around 6ft, so that’s saved a lot of money especially shoes. They are more like £50 sports direct trainers, fancier £100+ ones as birthday presents or using their own money. I have to persuade them to get new clothes as it’s “a hassle and it still fits mum”.
School lunches a little more expensive but not wildly - and they take sandwiches sometimes which they make.

They have games consoles but bought years ago, they don’t tend to buy new games. Annual PlayStation subscription about the cost of one days childcare.

One has music lessons, they both do cricket but that’s not too pricey. Driving lessons are the most expensive new addition but the total cost of all the lessons since September is about the same as one months childcare costs when he was little.

It will be university starting next year. I’m in the US and Most of the school dc wants to attend are 100k a year. The cheaper ones are still going to be 50k. We don’t qualify for financial aid. We have been saving since she was born.

Paying for childcare so you can work is an "essential" (or not working!)

With older kids you are chosing to spend money. You should see the prices of the school trips the local Secondary offers...
(DD had chosen the second cheapest... £575. Most expensive was £1500!). Some families chose multiple trips for multiple children.

(The school has a fund for PP families)

When I went to uni I wasn't eligible for a loan as my parents earned too much and I still had to pay fees (though reduced compared to now). My parents couldn't afford to help so I either went to uni and found a way or I didn't go.

But isn’t it lovely that some parents help their kids. ☺️

Or can help their kids.

This thread might have some people believing their kids can't go to uni because their parents can't afford it and that's not the case at all.

Are you okay?

Yes thankyou are you?

Teenage and young adult !! OMG - 5 of them - 4 boys !!! Spending 450 euro a week on food alone. Add in uni fees (they all live with us in Dublin though ) , driving lessons tests and insurance , holidays where all charged as adults , music lessons, golf and tennis club memberships , other sports activities, helping them out with trips with friends . It’s endless . I’ll be working till I’m 102 at this rate …

They would have to be pretty stupid to not realise that a child could take a gap year to earn, or they could work a lot of hours at uni to make up the shortfall.

The fact is that children of higher earners get less maintenance loan because there is the expectation that parents will and can help. Thankfully most people I know help their kids with uni. But there are a lot of people on mumsnet that seem to begrudge that which is really weird. I had no help from my parents and there was no way I wasn’t going to help our kids as much as possible.

Only on bloody mn do people have 50k stashed away for when each child turns 18 and goes to uni.

DC1, nearly 13, is pretty cheap. London so free travel, she wears joggers and hoodies (no fashion interest). Swimming subs (cheap) and music lessons through school.

DC2 is pretty expensive as has ASC and loads of hobbies (music lesson, 2x choir, one with subs), 3 sports, one of which is expensive (not horse riding expensive but not cheap like her cycling which is heavily subsidised).

Neither of them have phones, and won't. 2 has been told over the next year they need to prioritise activities and will need to drop a sport or two.

But it's all family lifestyle choice isn't it. You don't have to buy expensive trainers and send them on ski trips, most parents won't of course. All the teens I know are obsessed with vinted.

But nothing is as expensive as nursery. Uni we are saving for.

Or it’s only on MN that you get to hear views and experiences from a huge melting pot of people from different backgrounds, jobs, cultures etc that you wouldn’t normally mix with in your world. That’s what I think is great about MN. We’re all parents but that’s the only thing we all have in common.

I live in a bit of a bubble where all the kids go to independent schools and so paying in full for uni to spare your child taking out an expensive loan is actually cheaper than when the kids were at school. I don’t know anyone IRL whose kids are going to uni and taking out loans. Certainly not after all the bad press.

But I wouldn’t come on here and say only on bloody MN do people expect their kids to get part-time jobs in uni.

When they get divorced.

I grew up in a very rural area and not everyone learned to drive (who can afford an extra car?!). If you are going to university it's only about a year you'll be at home anyway after you turn 17 and it might take ages to pass. It's not usual for students to have cars.

I paid for myself to learn in my early 20s.

Why are you buying him all of thia stuff? That is absolutely on you. I have 3 teens they do not get anything like this spent on them. They have a £50 a month allowance for clothes and travel and outings, and work to top up anything on this.

Lots of students I know have cars.

Do you have DC at uni? My DD2 is going to a London uni and even wirh a full maintenance loan I will need to top up accom and living to £200 A WEEK. Significantly more than nursery and I was full time.