FIRST-TIME buyers struggling to afford a home were yesterday reassured that it is even more expensive to bring up a child.

Going without one child, it has been calculated, would save parents £164,000 spent on food, clothes, education, toys, holidays, child-minding, sports and pastimes.

Suddenly, the average cost of a house in Britain, reckoned by most measures to have just risen above £150,000, seems comparatively affordable.

Nearly four-fifths of new parents said in a survey that they were aware of the cost implications of having a baby. When asked to give an estimated figure of what that cost would be over 21 years, 34 per cent managed to predict close to the £164,000 sum, and nearly half (45 per cent) within a few thousand pounds.

More than one-in-five parents (22 per cent) said that if they had realised how much bringing up children costs, it would have put them off having one. Nearly 40 per cent of parents voted nappies the costliest item they needed to buy for their children, but half (49 per cent) said hiring a childminder was their most expensive outlay.

On average, the survey commissioned by Woolworths showed that parents expected to pay more than £300 to keep their child safe and amused during the six to eight-week summer holiday.

One-in-three (34 per cent) parents questioned said that they sent their child to summer school at least three times a week.

Although many teenagers get a part-time job, the study reveals that the money they earn is unlikely to make a significant difference to parents’ outgoings.

Jo Ledsham, a Woolworths spokesperson, said: “Youngsters are not going out and working to contribute to the household. The money is usually spent on themselves on things like sweets or CDs.

“Children are now dependent on the family longer and they live at home longer. The financial burden is large and increases if children go to university or further education.

“Even when children leave home they are likely to need financial help if they marry.”

WHERE DOES IT ALL GO?

AGE 1-5
Total: £20,520
Clothes, food, toys and general expenses, £12,000; pocket money (£2 a week), £520; nursery (two years at £4,000 a year), £8,000

AGE 5-11
Total: £70,368
Uniform, including sports kit, £6,000; clothes, food, toys and general expenses, £18,000; part-time nanny (assuming 20 hours a week plus one evening babysitting): £46,368

Age 11-18
Total: £43,201
Uniform including sports kit, £7,000; clothes, food and general expenses, £31,500; pocket money, £2,184; gadgets in bedroom, £9,510 (CDs/DVDs £5,040, games consoles £600, games £1470, TV/CD player/DVD player £400, computer £1,000, Other gadgets £1,000

Age 19-21
Total: £30,000
University fees/living expenses (three-year course), clothes, food and general expenses: £30,000

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