The cost of raising a child

  • Posted by 2 Stars and a Swirl

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Having recently noticed a survey in the Guardian newspaper that revealed that the average cost of a child’s wardrobe to be £1677 I nearly fell over in shock.  It also said that 62% of children have at least one item of clothing from a top designer brand and 39% own their first designer item before their second birthday.

Apparently the average British parent is spending on average £764 a year on the latest clothing for their children, with 6% spending up to £1500. The study showed that on average each child was found to have more than 154 items of clothing, as well as shoes valued at more than £190. This is in addition to the toys that on average were found to be worth £1676 in total.  I can confirm that my kids don’t own over £1500 worth of toys!

Critics have suggested that parents are being influenced by the extravagant clothing that the children of celebrities, such as Suri Cruise and Romeo Beckham are usually seen wearing. The research also found that 26% of children wear either a designer watch or an item of jewellery, with over 8% having at least one accessory which was valued at over £200.

Over two thirds of parents admitted to having bought items of clothing that their children had only worn once. In addition over half of the parents insisted on buying brand-new clothing, and a third said that their children would be unhappy with hand-me-downs.

So is there any logic behind this seemingly irrational behaviour? Well, over 25% of the parents polled admitted that they feel guilty if they don’t buy their children the latest fashionable clothing.

Nearly 40% of parents noted that they felt it was their duty to keep their kids in the most up-to-date fashionable clothes which followed the latest trends. And a further 36% were worried that their children might be bullied at school if they were not seen to be wearing the right type of clothing and following fashion like the school friends.

With the huge cost of bringing up children including buying them clothes, whether they be the latest fashion or just a new pair of jeans from Marks & Spencer’s, the costs certainly are still spiralling. If like me you’re looking for a place to sell my stuff online, including things like old laptops, old CDs, DVDs etc, then MusicMagpie may be worth considering.