What age kids become expensive?

[Glassofredandapackofcrisps]

Just that really. My dd is nearly 2 costs creeping up slightly and so wondering is it a gradual rise or does it come as a massive shock around a certain age? Thank you!

Dd1 wasn't very expensive at any age really. My parents did my childcare when she was preschool age so no childcare costs then. She did go to breakfast and after school clubs once she was at school, but at secondary school she stopped needing childcare, walked to school, only does activities that are free, etc. She shops in cheap/charity shops. I've paid for driving lessons, so 17 has been the most expensive so far. I expect the uni years will be the most expensive overall.

Dd2 was most expensive as a baby/toddler because of the childcare. Even having a childminder who just charged for term time as that was all I was using it still cost £8000 per year. I've NEVER paid out that much on dd1, at any age. I doubt I will ever pay out that much on dd2 again either. So the childcare years are most expensive if you have to pay for childcare, or if you give up work to look after the kids.

The average cost of raising one child to 18 (not including university) is about £230,000

These 'how much does a child cost' things always makes me laugh. If it costs £230000 to raise one child to 18 that's just under £13K per year. So if you earn the average salary of £27K over half your take home pay is spent on one child? I doubt it. That figure comes from a report in the Telegraph here and the figures include £75K (so £6K per year) spend on education and £16K spent on holidays (so just under £1K per year). DH and I earn about double the average and don't spend that much on our kids so I find it hard to believe that is the average spend. Possible the average spend for Telegraph readers. And FWIW it shows the toddler years are the most expensive (although since it suggest the cheapest year is the first when most women are on maternity leave and so are earning much less than usual I find that hard to believe, and it demonstrates quite clearly that these tables never include loss of earnings).

This report in the Mirror says it costs £60K to raise a child to 11 seems more realistic as an average.

Unless we do private school for secondary I just can’t see how teenagers could cost more for my family. I’m paying £850 for 3 days a week of nursery and have been buying new sets of clothes every 6 months due to growth (have now hit the point where things will hopefully last a year). I’m already on the activity bandwagon with a toddler music class at £6 a go and swimming lessons at £17 (can’t wait for when she turns 3 and can do the council ones). I could pay for a hell of a lot of driving lessons for the amount we’ve spent getting rear facing car seats for two cars (to accommodate separate nursery pick up and drop-offs).

I get that teenagers will be more expensive than primary aged children due to their interests, activities etc but surely not more than £1000 a month plus expensive.

I think if you are a working parent all the way through and paid for childcare, this part is the most expensive.

If you are (or were) a SAHP, or worked and your childcare wasnt a creche, then teenage is more costly.

Certainly clothes and food bill are higher as teenages. Even if isn't brand names.

But also, unlike childcare costs, the costs are less 'set'. If you go out for a meal or get takeaway are far pricier - adult prices being paid- but you don't have to eat out or get a take away.

University costs are similar to childcare ones. They make that part of children costly. So when children cost more depends if these costs are part of your life.

I haven't had to pay for childcare for years but they are expensive. I pay for two hobbies and that is about £200 a term but then adding in the food, clothes and so on and I spend most of my income on the children.

Uni isn't necessarily expensive. DS1 is in 2nd year at uni. His chosen degree happens to be a northern city with very low living costs. He doesn't get full maintenance loan and we were prepared to top him up, but he doesn't need it. We do send him off each term with a grocery shop and treat him to odd little bits.

His sibling who hopes to go in the autumn is likely to end up in London which is going to be very different!

Teenage years were more expensive for us because of activity choices, plus we chose to send them to a school that required bus passes. We also paid for driving lessons and insured our car for them, that sends the average cost up quite a lot!

I didn't work when DC were small so didn't cost anything then.

12. That's when they want designer clothes and phones.

New dance shoes every 6 weeks cost £80 a pair. Dance fees £180 a month. iphone £40 a month.

Unless a SAHP was earning pennies before stopping paid work, loss of earnings is going to come to more than nursery fees for a preschooler or monstersized trainers for a teenager.

It also seems to me that some of the costs people mention for keeping a child at university are ones they've chosen to take on rather than expecting their child to take the hit.

Stuff though (clothes, shoes, food, sports kit, trips, travel) is much dearer at 15 than at 5.

day one obvs !

Teens:

Phone £25 min
Computer hardware £30 min
Drama £67.50
Music: 100
Uniform 20
Clothes 50
Stationery 10
Hair 12
Fares 80
Allowance 100
School trips 80

That's just shy of £600 and doesn't account for family hols, food, xmas, birthdays etc. If they want a gym/swimming that's more.

In addition there will be exam fees, entrance fees, and various other miscellanies and ours weren't over indulged except for £1500pcm on school fees.

Just checked dd's hall for next year and it's about £5k plus living expenses and ds's masters - I was wrong it's £20k plus hall.

It really depends - my 5 year old is seriously expensive,
. We only got into an abysmally bad state primary school that is a 2 hour round trip away (just under 3 miles, but through a busy town centre) and has no wraparound care. SO he now goes to a private school. Giving up one of our jobs would have been even more expensive, and the school is incredibly bad. He also has eczema that reacts to polyester, so his complete school uniform is pure cotton (expensive!).

I noticed a massive spike in costs when they hit their teens. They eat SO much more. They need mobile phones. They grow out of clothes and shoes every term, and the cost of uniform really goes up in the upper years. They start wearing men's clothes which have VAT on them, from the age of about 12. They have a more expensive social life - endless train fares and trips out for pizzas, films, bowling etc.

On reading earlier post thought £1000 a month,that's massive no way I spend that
Then I thought about it
£25 per child per week for school lunch
£80 pcp month allowance
£30 pcpmmoblile phone
£25 pcpm contact lens
This week £100for D of E,£ 80 school trip instalment
£30 pizza and snacks when DD had friends over
£60 new school shoes
£50 clothes for school trip
Next week need to get DD boots for Dof E trip
Interesting

I was wondering about teen costs too. I have one in full time nursery and one at school. It cost me £1600pcm until the 30 hours care kicked in. It is still over £1k pcm. It is hard to imagine paying more that this a month until university years.

The £1600pcm isn’t even for school holidays. DC goes to a childminder and it’s £5 an hour, 8-6. We are going to try a camp this Easter now she’s older to keep cost down.

user1487194234 Sun 25-Feb-18 08:28:28
I don't want mine working until they have finished their final school exams

Working part time helps teens manage their time, increases self esteem, and in general focuses them on the better work they will be able to do once they have a degree. If exams are the only thing a teen has to focus on, it can blow exams up into a massive be all and end all, and add to pressure.

My boys became expensive when they grew out of children's clothes and shoes. About age 11 and 12, they are tall. The shoes alone cost a fortune.

I think that at my end, (2 just started primary) the teen costs look discretionary. Because if you don't have free childcare or swing shifts with your partner, you HAVE to pay for childcare. So pizza for your teens and mates, extra curriculars, residentials etc seem optional. Which they are in a way - no one is going to call social services because you didn't feed half a dozen teens that turned up. But, when you get there, you feel you want to get to know your child's friends, you want your child to do d of e if they'll enjoy it, you might even want them to drive (or it may terrify you!). So if you have the money, you will spend it.
Childcare though. You have to spend it whether you've got it or not! It's a roof-over -your-head priority.

I’m heading toward teen with my DC. I have nothing to base costs on, yet, but some of this stuff is definitely worrying.

The only thing I have to base costs on was my own teenage years (and before anyone decides that’s not relevant, I was a teenager 13 years ago, it still feels relevant to me)

I didn’t have a mobile phone, I didn’t have pocket money, had £2 a day for lunch. I was bought clothes in the local budget shop. I had one coat, one pair of shoes. Going out with my friends was going to the park or to their houses. I didn’t go on the residential trips. I didn’t uses buses or trains much, but when I did the bus was 90p into town. I didn’t do any classes or activities. I didn’t eat out or go on holiday. I got a job at 13, paper round, then leafleting, then shop work and pot washing, I had a job constantly until I left school at 16. I didn’t go to university. I didn’t take driving lessons.

It was fine. My kids will have more than I did, but I’m struggling to see past my only experience of teenagerhood. They don’t spend it if you don’t have it, surely. How do we get from giving them some money for some chips and making sure their shoes don’t have holes to contract phones, paying for nights out for them and friends, and buying designer boots?

My eldest is 11 so not done the teenage years or uni yet but at the moment my 4 year old (reception) and my 11 year old (year 7) are the most expensive of my 5 DC at the moment.

Love and Purple Just wait until you get there.

So don't buy the branded clothes, etc?

Its not the branded stuff its the activities and trips.

And the odd bit of branded stuff is so important to them. I scoffed like you but when your 11 year old is feeling left out because everyone else has Adidas superstars and she doesn't it takes a hard heart to tell her to buck up. We gave in and when it was her birthday a few months later she said not to bother as all she had wanted was those trainers .

I still remember not being allowed a ra ra skirt at that age.

Assuming you need full time or near to full time childcare 1 and 2 has got to be the most expensive ages. I can't wait for the 30 hours to kick in at 3! But I do think the teenage years will be expensive. But it can't be £1k a month per child expensive!