- Childcare costs cause debt
- Parents struggle financially
- Government aid questioned
According to the Money Helper website of the government, the annual cost of a full-time nursery place for a child under the age of two averages £14,030.
The director of a charity has stated that for parents, having a child “feels like financial suicide,” in light of a study revealing an increasing number of Britons are incurring debt to afford childcare.
According to a survey commissioned by the advocacy organisation Pregnant Then Screwed, nearly half of the parents of children under five in England have faced financial difficulties due to the rising cost of childcare.
The charity’s founder, Joeli Brearley, stated after the publication of the study that “we have a cost-of-working crisis that disproportionately affects mothers, in addition to a cost-of-living crisis.”
She also said that many parents who wish to have more children “cannot afford to do so,” adding, “Being a parent is difficult enough; procreation feels like financial suicide when having more children means sacrificing income.”
Parenthood will become a luxury if we are not careful; the economy cannot afford this cost.
According to the government’s Money Helper website, the current weekly cost of sending a child under the age of two to a full-time nursery is £269.86, equating to £14,030 annually.
46% of parents told the charity that to support their children, they have incurred debt or depleted savings, an increase from 35% in the previous year’s survey.
Additionally, about 70% of mothers surveyed agreed that “it makes no financial sense to work after paying for childcare.” The sentiments of half the fathers surveyed were similar.
This follows last year’s announcement that eligible working parents of two-year-olds will receive 15 hours of free childcare assistance starting in April. The 15 hours will be extended to carers of children aged nine months to three years beginning in September.
The government aims to ensure that all eligible working parents with children aged nine months and older will have access to thirty hours of childcare per week by September 2025.
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However, ninety percent of parents do not believe the government’s promise that childcare costs will decrease, according to the survey.
Furthermore, 37% of parents reported having to borrow money from family or friends, take out a loan, or use credit cards to afford childcare.
Additionally, 22% of parents reported having to withdraw funds from their pensions or investments.
The study utilised a final sample of 5,870 respondents, selected at random from a larger cohort of 35,800 survey participants.
