According to this. Raising a child now costs over £12,000 a year

[JustHecate]

£218,000 from birth to 21

That can't be right, surely?

Some people don't even earn that!

What if you have 2 - is that £24,000 a year? 3? £36,000 a year?

It can't possibly be right.

Anyone have a link to the actual figures that show how they've arrived at this amount?

Of course it can't be right. Like you said..most people don't even earn that. If it was true we would have about 3k left for everything!...

Unless the figure includes school costs, nhs etc?

That'll be the child in diamante baby-gros, with a personal trainer and weaned on lobster thermidor? They're calling it 'a child' up to age 21 so I suppose if you factor in a potential £30k for a university career and £80k downpayment on a Mayfair flat you could get close.

The breakdown is here on the LV website. My 11yo apparently costs me £58k per year in 'education' but, as he's in state education, that's not just me footing the bill. He's also supposed to get an annual £3k in pocket money and £5k worth of toys

I must be reading that wrong. £5k on toys between age 11 and 21 perhaps... ?? Even so.

I can well believe it, sadly. Childcare costs alone set us back nearly £10,000 a year for our 2 year old. And our nearly teenagers are expensive one way and another too. There was a bit of a lull before the little one was born and the older ones went to secondary when life seemed a bit cheaper though.

How MUCH on toys??? Where do they collect these figures? Mad!

Pocket money for a five year old is over 4k...poor DS must be deprived

Madness

I think it is calculating the cost from the age they are now to the age of 21. It is essentially a plug for a life insurance company, much the same as those ones that calculate your 'worth' as a stay at home parent, so all the costs are going to be inflated as much as possible.

Some are just a bit silly - I will not be spending £3,000 on babysitting/childcare over the next ten years, as my 12 year old no longer needs childcare.

Apparently having new born twins lines you up for almost half a million!

Apparently getting my 3 to 21 I will be spending £350k

If that were right our annual household expentiture on the kids alone would be more than double our annual income

I hate these assessments. They always show stupidly low amounts for clothes - oh, about fifty quid a year - and thousands for toys and equipment.

I think though that I have paid a huge amount in childcare (much more than my mortgage); and in 'lost salary'. Do they factor the latter in?

Anyway, so what? Like Cameron is going to give a flying fuck.