Cost of childcare

Nine in 10 parents in the survey admitted to feeling financial pressure and 82 per cent said that the strain has negatively affected their mental or emotional wellbeing.

Parents named prams or travel systems as their single biggest financial outlay, followed by childcare, plus nappies and wipes.

For families, getting out and about doesn’t come cheap, with one in three parents spending over £800 on their pram or travel system; but it’s the ongoing expenses that catch many off guard. Parents named childcare, and clothing as their most unexpectedly expensive costs.

One parent commented: ‘I was completely unprepared for how childcare funding works in practice. I thought the government’s 30-hour scheme would make things more affordable, but even with funding, our nursery costs are around £1,500 a month once you factor in all the extras. It was a real shock and made returning to work part-time far less affordable than I’d imagined.’

More than 8 in 10 parents said becoming a parent had taken a toll on their mental wellbeing, not just from lack of sleep, but from the emotional weight of trying to ‘do it all’ without enough time for themselves.

For many, the price of parenthood also meant career sacrifices (27 per cent), less relationship time (21 per cent) and cutting back on future savings (16 per cent).

And it’s not just the cost of consumer durables that is taking a toll. Nearly half of couples in the survey said they argue more or feel more distant since becoming parents –and 4 in 10 attributed this to financial pressures.

Friendships also suffered with nearly three-quarters of parents in the survey reporting that their social circle had changed since having a baby. A third said the financial cost of parenting, from nights out to social activities, had made it harder to maintain friendships.

Yet the good news is that, despite all this, 6 out of 10 said they’d spend about the same again: proof that the emotional reward outweighs the financial price tag.

Visit www.ukbabycentre.com