THE COSTS associated with having a child start almost at the moment of conception, or at least within a couple of weeks of it. When education, childcare, food, clothes, holidays, toys, pocket money, presents, doctors’ bills and all the stuff that children require – and acquire – over the course of their young lives is factored in, they will cost their parents well in excess of €200,000 before they get to 18.
For many parents, the financial clock starts ticking right from the start. Those who opt for the maternity sections of the public health system will incur few or no medical costs. But those who prefer to “go private” and engage a consultant obstetrician can pay anywhere between €3,500 and €7,000, depending on the consultant and the hospital.
The many pieces of equipment associated with the modern baby can be picked up second-hand, or handed down from friends or family. Nevertheless, many parents will spend thousands of euro on items that are perceived to be essential, before a baby is even born.
There’ll be the clothes (€200 for the first year); gro-bags for sleeping (€150 for three); Moses basket (€50); car seat (€210); bouncer (€50); cot (€350); changing station (€150); high chair (€100); monitor (€60); thermometer (€40); buggy (€500); and travel cot (€120) (many of these are optional).
Then there are the nappies. In the first two years of a baby’s life they will go through around 5,000 nappies and with branded nappies costing around 25 cent each in the major supermarkets, the cost of nappies alone will be €1,250 before a child hits the age of two. All these expenses come to €3,050, and that is before food, toys, baby wipes and all the other accessories are factored in.
Childcare costs are the bane of many parents’ lives. The average cost of childcare across the State is in the region of €175 per week per child but the average cost in Dublin is in excess of €225. Parents who send their child to a Dublin creche, then, can expect to shell out around €41,000 before the child hits the free education system.
Except it is not really that free. Research published last year by Bank of Ireland Life, in association with online parent resource schooldays.ie, reported that putting a child through free primary school costs about €12,000, while for secondary school, the costs were €13,000. Later, a further €42,000 was required to support a child living away from home through third-level education and that does not include any of the administrative fees or college fees that may well be imposed at some point over the next 18 years.
Then there are medical bills. Parents without a medical card pay at least €50 for every visit to the doctor and as any parent of young children – particularly a child who has been introduced to the melting pot of infections at the local creche – will readily testify, those visits can be very frequent. A portion (reduced in the last Budget) of medical costs can be reclaimed through the Med 1 tax-back scheme, but nevertheless, charges mount up.
Is it any wonder that last year a British insurance company estimated that the average cumulative cost of raising a child from birth to age 21 was €212,000.
While there is no up-to-date information on the full cost of raising a child in this country, we estimate – factoring in the price differentials between Ireland and the UK – that the total price of raising a child here is around €250,000. Have four of the little darlings and you’ll need to earn close to €2 million gross over the course of your working life to pay for them.
