£200,000 to raise a child? Try these money-saving tips

BY  Sandra Haurant of  Guardian.co.uk
Secondhand prams and utilising mother
freebies are among the ways to stop parenting becoming extortionate

Some parents spend more on a pram than many spend on a car. Photograph: Dan Chung

The cost of raising a child now has topped £200,000, and according to friendly society LV=, and in the first year alone an average little one will set his or her parents back £9,152.
It is easy to see how costs can mount up. Baby clothes are temptingly cute, and splash out on a top-of-the-range buggy and you will be shelling out more than many pay for a car. But spending huge amounts of money on your first baby is avoidable, and spending the best part of £10,000 is certainly unnecessary.
There are plenty of checklists online listing the essentials you will need in stock before your new baby arrives and which can come in handy for the uninitiated. The Emma's Diary website, which is linked to the books GPs hand out to expectant mothers, for example, has a shopping list with essentials and nice-to-haves, as does the Bounty site.
However, for anything other than necessities, only buy things as and when you need them. "Don't buy a whole load of expensive equipment before the baby is born," says Siobhan Freegard, co-founder of the Netmums.com. "Otherwise you end up buying things that you either could have done without or could have borrowed from someone else."

Essential buys

Keep your pre-baby shopping list to a minimum – the shops will still be there after they arrive – and only buy what you will need as soon as the baby is born. A boiled-down list of essentials includes:
• Clothes and baby-friendly detergent (in large quantities)
• A heap of nappies, whether washable or disposable, and a changing mat along with cotton wool, soft flannels or baby wipes for frequent clean-ups
• Somewhere for the baby to sleep, such as a Moses basket or a cot, along with mattresses and linen and blankets or little sleeping bags
• Something to transport the baby around in, a sling or a buggy or, more likely, both
• A baby bath – not essential but very useful. They will last, and save on water, until your little one is able to sit up. You could use a washing up bowl in the early weeks, or even just a sink. You'll also need soft sponges and baby soap
• A car seat – even if you don't have your own car this is handy in case you need to travel in someone else's
• Bottles and sterilising equipment – but only if you are not breastfeeding. If you are breastfeeding, just a few muslins to catch the mess, and perhaps a pump for expressing and a steriliser
It's easy to feel like you should buy the best of everything, according to Freegard: "For a first-time mother this can be a very emotional time. There can be a lot of pressure to buy new things. It is very hard to convince someone to go for a secondhand pram, for example."
But if you want to avoid that £9,000 initial outlay in the first year, hold off on buying expensive items brand new, many of which will only last you a matter of months, or even weeks, before being outgrown. There is nothing to say any of the necessary equipment needs to be bought shiny and new from your local, expensive, baby emporium.
The only exception is car seats. These should only be secondhand if you are absolutely sure they have never been in a car accident or even been dropped accidentally. Like motorcycle helmets, any impact could leave them weakened and unsafe if you have an accident.
For the rest, though, buying secondhand – even for washable nappies – will save a fortune. You may let yourself be tempted by some of those very cute baby clothes, but accept as many hand-me-downs as you can too. They will be out of newborn clothes before you know it, Moses baskets will only last around three months, so ask around and try to borrow one, and perhaps buy your own mattress.

Try before you buy

When it comes to prams and buggies, test-drive a friend's and get advice before you commit. "The prices can be astronomical," says Freegard. "But so often people buy expensive prams only to find out they are not practical." In the early stages it is important to buy a pram or buggy your baby can lie flat in, but beyond that, the most important thing is manoeuvrability and how easy it is to fold and stash away, says Freegard: "Within a few months, a cheap, £20 buggy will be all you need."
For secondhand baby equipment, head for the baby pages on eBay, try local NCT nearly-new sales and Net Mums' nearly-new boards to see who is selling what in your area. And ask around – people are only too happy to pass on perfectly good, used baby items that are filling up their lofts.
Look for freebies and money off where you can, too. Sainsburys' Little Ones club offers a Huggies baby bundle, apparently worth £9.99, including baby toiletries and a changing mat, Boots Parenting Club gives you money off vouchers, extra Boots Clubcard points and currently a free changing bag if you buy certain baby goods.
If you are lucky enough to have friends and family offering to buy presents for your new baby, take advantage of their generosity. You don't have to have a US-style baby list, but make a wishlist – then if someone asks if there is anything you'd like you can have an answer ready and avoid accumulating piles of cuddly toys or far too many newborn clothes. Plus, people like to know their presents will be used.
Finally, if there is any chance junior will have a baby brother or sister one day, don't throw anything away, and call back lent-out items when they are finished with. Equipping yourselves for your first baby may be expensive, but siblings are perfectly happy in hand-me-downs.

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Birth to five...Your NHS guide to parenting in the early years

 

 

• Baby essentials
• Health and development
• You and your life

Introduction

Whether your child is a newborn, a toddler or a pre-schooler, this new Birth to five guide is for you. 

It has 150 pages of NHS-accredited information, videos and interactive tools to help you through the parenting process.

We answer all your questions, from how to soothe a crying baby to how to prepare your child for school. Learn how to spot the signs of serious illness, how to cope if an accident happens, and how to check your child’s development.

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Average UK child cost £200,000

The average cumulative cost of raising a child from birth to the age of 21 has risen by 4% in just over a year, and is rapidly nearing an incredible £200,000, it is claimed.

The figure does not take into account private school fees, but even a state education can set families back thousands of pounds in uniforms, equipment and extra costs such as school trips, according to the latest report from insurance and investment group LV=.

It shows bills have risen by 38% since its surveys began in 2003, even though spending on family holidays and pocket money has recently shrunk significantly.

The £193,772 cost of bringing up baby, who can set parents back an eye-watering £8,853 in the first year alone, is based on a mixture of information from national bodies such as the Daycare Trust and National Union of Students, and surveys by LV= and other companies.

Parents in outer London are shown to be paying the most on raising a child, shelling out an average £211,977 until the child reaches 21, followed by those in inner London who spend £202,644, and eastern England where the average is £200,274, the report said.

Parents in the West Midlands face the lowest costs – an average of £186,641 – while in Wales the estimated average is £188,916 and in Scotland it is £189,086.

Childcare and education make up the brunt of the potential costs. Over the years the cost of the former comes to an average of £53,818 nationally, when nursery fees, after-school clubs and holiday clubs are taken into account.

This is more than the cost of education, which LV= said is £50,240, including £34,300 on studying for a university degree.

These costs soar by an additional national average of £71,660 for those paying for a child to go all the way through private day school, and by £129,260 if a child is boarding. This takes the overall averages up to £265,432 and £323,032 respectively.

Minor declines

Estimates of pocket money costs have shrunk significantly since the last report in December 2007, down from £5,649 to £4,144, as have those for spending on a child's holidays, which is down from £13,359 to £11,920. A separate survey of parental attitudes also suggested parents are now saving far less too.

Mike Rogers, group chief executive at LV=, said: "Every parent knows how their hard-earned savings can dip thanks to eye-watering education and childcare costs.

"It is also likely to be of little comfort to mums and dads to hear that pocket money costs are at their lowest level since 2004, or that expenditure on family holidays in 2008 was only 4% up on the 2003 cost."

The survey has been conducted on comparable lines since it began. But an LV= spokeswoman conceded yesterday that its estimates took no account of how the costs of either childcare or state education were divided between parents, government grants and loans, student repayments, and income a child earns from working while at college.

A survey LV= commissioned from YouGov of nearly 1,200 adults aged 40 and over with at least one adult child, published in September, suggested that on average a parent actually paid just £2,245 a year towards their offspring's university costs, totalling £6,735 for a three-year course.

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