Children cost 50k before fifth birthday

Cost of raising a child to its fifth birthday is 52,000

12:15 03 March 2005

The cost of raising a child has always been well documented, but putting an exact figure on the expenses incurred has always been difficult.

New research by the magazine Pregnancy and Birth has gone some way to rectifying this, declaring that the real cost of raising a baby from birth until their fifth birthday is a staggering 52,000.

More than half of the money spent by parents will go on childcare, with food, clothes and toys also making up a large portion of the cost.

The study, acknowledges but does not quantify the "hidden costs" of child care such as giving up work, buying a bigger car, or a bigger house. It also estimates that parents will have spent nearly 4,000 even before the baby is born, on pregnancy costs.

Editor of Pregnancy and Birth, Kaye McIntosh quoted on thisismoney.com said: "Babies change your life financially in a way nothing else ever will, but having a baby is the best thing that will ever happen to you and you can't put a price on that."

Although the first five years of a child's life are the most expensive, the spending doesn't stop there, with the next 11 years of a child's life likely to cost parents a further 56,000 pounds.