to ask why having kids is expensive?

[HodgePodge23]

What do you need to buy them apart from toys, food, clothes and a few other bits and bobs here and there? I have an 8 month old so maybe things will get more expensive with time, but I really don't understand why people say having children is expensive. What are people spending their money on?

We home educated dd for a while. It isn't cheap. Especially since it means you won't be going back to work.

I assume your dh earns a good wage, but if you home educate and are not returning to work, your household is down one wage.

Oh dancing £67 per pair of tap shoes, then there are Jazz and Character shoes. Exam fees, show fees, lesson fees and extra lessons for exams. Whatever extra activity they decide is their thing is going to cost hundreds and that is without your time be it sitting beside a swimming pool or waiting outside a rehearsal hall or standing by a pitch.
Yes, we could say no to this, but really do any of us want to deny our DC pursuing something they really enjoy.

Oh yeah forgot to add the kids kick boxing.

£45 pcm for 2 sessions a week
£35 for gloves
£5 for wraps
£25 for a helmet
£35 for boots
£25 for uniform

Then payment for their headings and competitions. Both kids do it so all that is x 2.

Dd still did kickboxing when she was home schooled

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. This has seriously made me laugh. DS is in full time nursery. It's costs me £800 a month.

I have no choice but to pay, I'm in an industry where I cannot take four years out, to wait for him to go to school. So yeah it's very bloody expensive.

Spending money. £50 each a month. DDs dance classes and kit £190 a month including 8 different types of dance shoes. DS extra maths tuition £100 a month.

Ditto what most others have said, I have four and I'm nearly bankrupt after buying uniforms (for 2) and entertaining them for the first half of the summer hols. We went to a paint a pot place last week it cost me £60 for lunch for me and the 4dc and of 3 of them to paint and that was just one day out of a long long summer holiday!

Our biggest outgoing has always been childcare. Ds doesn't cost much in terms of clothes (family live close and buy him stuff and he gets hand me downs from a friend's little boy). But he goes to school in Sept so uniform costs will be an additional outgoing. He also does taekwondo at £30 pm.

The hobbies are a killer. Dd did Irish dancing and the cost of the shoes and the dresses! (even second hand) plus competition fees forced us to give up. Then there was theatre school and along with the fees there was all the dancewear and kit. Again, forced to give it up. We managed to keep the singing going so there was choir, voice tuition, costs in driving to rehearsals and lessons, music camp etc. She managed to recoup some of that cost when singing at gigs - not that we ever saw any of it!
Now Ds is having music lessons for drums (of all things) and bass guitar. He has a guitar but no way we can afford a drum kit so he is already falling behind in class. Drumming on a sound pad is not cutting it. Looks like we will have to give that one up too. When you can't afford all this stuff, you do feel as if you have failed your kids. Start saving now Op

It's frightening how expensive having children can be. I had mine late 70 s early 80s and thought it was quite expensive then when a decent cot was £100. Now I can't get my head around all the equipment a baby needs.

Home edding works out very expensive as someone up thread points out. Every book, craft material has to be bought by the parent and then trips to meet other home edders all costs.
We've just been on holiday with my home edded three grandchildren and their parents and even though they ate breakfast in their caravan the other two meals out a day made for a tidy sum at the end of the week.

We went to a funfair. The children had two rides each and it came to £18! No one wants to say no all the time and we all want to give our children as many experiences as possible. Thankfully in Wales a lot of attractions are free so entertaining them during the day wasn't expensive but meals and drinks . Definitely.

Babies don't need anything different to babies in the 80s/90s.

Actually can't believe the cost of childcare. Shocking.

Children themselves aren't expensive for their basic care.

My DD is adorable and I hate to say no to her, she gets a toy practically everytime we go out. When she was first learning how to talk, we let her have anything she asked for, because how to do you say no to such cuteness? We once walked out of the store with a can of custard we had no intention of eating because she saw it and held it the whole way around the store and she was only 8/9 months or so. She really wanted that can of custard .

At Christmas and birthdays I literally want to give her everything. I just know she'd really like it and I want her to be happy and have a great time. My DD is spoilt!

I agree. Babies can be very inexpensive.

I spent aroung £100 on baby stuff in the first year. Second hand clothes, no pram, no cot, no bottles no steriliser.

Older children are a different matter. School trips usually cost £100 upwards. Our ( state school) offered two trips last year costing £4500 and £7000. Both trips were full.

Grand - I disagree. Children of 70s are now in their 40s. They could grow up, going straight to any school, any university, and pretty much guaranteed a job. Children today face high competition both in this country and from abroad, schools often require entry exams, secondaries require entry exams to the good schools and there's 5 times the number of children than places so schools can be selective on who gets in, same at uni and work. So they need extra experiences and qualifications than before and all before that that helps them with that. Being another language, arts, music ( costs of trips/ equipment/ tutors)

In secondary school here it is £500 for 10 days in Europe. It was only £350 at the same school when I was 16, so I paid it myself from my wages.

Also children of the 70s were fed crap often. Cheap carbs to fill them up cheaply. We now know a lot more about nutrition so most parents strive to feed there child a variety of everything ethically which costs more.

Not 70s I was talking about 90s. I am not that old!

Well actually I finished school in the 2000s but childhood was mainly 90s

Ok. I was also a child in the 90s. It was similar to the 70s imo.

My friends son is 12. His 3 day trip in France in July was £750. A 10 day trip would therefore be around £2000. A lot more than your prices

fortothedozen are those sums correct for those school trips? Are people taking out loans to send their dc on trips?!

Outside of London most things are a lot cheaper. We are south coast and it is cheap where we are.

littlelion. Yes they are correct unfortunately. Local state comprehensive. Both trips were over- subscribed.

4 teenagers
Private education
Food ( you wait)
Clothes
Shoes ( all size 6 and above)
Trainers
Football kit
More football kit
Haircuts, toiletries cosmetics for DD
School books
School trips
Clubs
Pocket money
Adult air fares & adult prices for holidays.
Taxis, train fares, bus fares, bike repairs.
Dental treatment ( braces)
Cinema trips, going out, snacks.
Lunch money

I could go on, but DS2 is wanting me to take him somewhere.
Time money expense

You don't have to send your DC on school trips abroad. NO is a word.

DD asked and I had to say no, we're in New Zealand so don't have Europe on tap etc - ball park figure for an exchange to Germany for 6 weeks was $7000, then the host sister has to come and stay at ours for 6 weeks.

Again say no for toys, when DD was younger she use to ask for presents when were shopping and I said no, she understood. Toys were mostly birthday and christmas presents. You are really doing yourself no favour by buying everything your Dd wants.

Again, who the heck buys their child branded clothing regularly?! DD went to a mufti primary school and about 4 times per year she got branded clothing that was on sale.