THE average cost of raising a child to secondary school age stands at almost £87,000, a four per cent increase in the last 12 months, according to the annual Halifax Cost of Children research.
On average, parents are paying more than £650 per month on items for their children, 35 per cent of the average UK disposable earnings.
Parents say that their children cost the most in the first year of their life, almost £10,000 on average. This drops when the child gets older and childcare costs reduce, to just over £6,500 a year or approximately £550 per month (for a child aged 9-11 years). Childcare remains the single most expensive element of raising a child, costing parents over £320 on average per month, and accounting for almost half of the overall cost
