Education a lot cheaper than we think

WHILE I empathise with parents who face the inevitable expense associated with raising and educating their children (August 7), it annoys me to see parents begrudging their children €120-€170 for schoolbooks while simultaneously sporting neat haircuts (€40-€180) and fetching handbags (€10-500) after having filled their ’06 car with a tank of petrol (€40) in order to drive to the nearest post office to collect the children’s allowance.

Worse still, the parent might enjoy their cigarettes or alcohol, and will need that holiday to Spain or the US.

As for those expensive uniforms, considering that a child can be clothed and shod for an academic year for under €150 and such uniforms can be reused, I see no reason why the vast majority of parents should struggle financially.