Cost of raising a child to 21 in Britain now averages €261k

The typical cost of raising a child to the age of 21 in Britain has risen to £218,000 (€261,500), with education, childcare and food making the biggest dents in parents’ budgets, a report has found.

Parents spend around £10,382 a year, £865 a month or £28.44 a day on their child’s upbringing, insurer and retirement specialist LV said in its Cost of a Child study, as it warned that families were unlikely to see the pressure ease in the near future.

The overall bill has increased by 55%, from £140,000 since the report was first published in 2003, and the latest figure is also a 3.3% rise on last year’s total of £211,113.