小儿难养：英国育儿成本达十年最高峰

The cost of raising a child has hit an all-time high, according to a new report, heaping pressure on families already coping with cuts to child benefit.

Figures from insurer LV='s annual Cost of a Child Report show that the cost of a bringing a child up to the age of 21 has reached £222,458 - more than £4,000 higher than last year and up £82,000 on ten years ago.

The insurer estimates that this is set to reach £350,000 by 2023 if costs continue to increase at the same rate.

The report will be a further blow for hard-working families ascash-strappedparents continue to struggle with rising household bills and wage freezes and cuts to child benefit. The right to receive the payments, worth £20.30 a week for the first child and £13.40 for further children, was removed earlier this month from households with one earner on a salary of more than £60,000 and reduced for families where one member is paid more than £50,000.

The research published today shows costs have risen in all areas over the last decade, except for clothing, down 5pc, with education seeing the biggest increase.

As a result, more than three-quarters of parents have been forced to make cutbacks tomake ends meet. According to LV=, more than four in ten arereining inspending on luxuries such as holidays, a third are also cutting back how much they spend onessentialssuch as food.

Education and childcare remains the biggest expenditure for parents. The cost of education, including uniforms, after school clubs and university costs, has shot up from £32,593 to £72,832 per child in the last ten years.

Childcare costs have also rocketed, up from £39,613 in 2003 to £63,738 today.

The rising cost of nursery care is high on the agenda for the Coalition. But it recently backed away from plans to give every parent with children under five tax relief worth about £2,000 per child. It had beenbilledas the principal policy to emerge from the Coalition’s Mid-Term Review.

The cost of electronic gadgets has presented a new financial strain on family budgets, with annual spend increasing to £302, as have holidays, up from £11,458 a decade ago to £16,195. However, the increase on each is likely to be due to families committing more of theirdiscretionary spendingrather than being just down to price rises.

“The cost of raising a child continues to soar and is now at a ten year high,” said Mark Jones, head of protection at LV=.

“Everyone wants the best for their children, but the rising cost of living is pushing parent’s finances to the limit. There seems to be no sign of this trend reversing. If the costs associated with bringing up children continue to rise at the same pace, parents could face a bill of over £350,000 in ten years’ time.”

据最新报道，英国育儿成本再创新高。英国之前已经削减了儿童津贴，而育儿成本的上升更加重了养育子女的家庭负担。

据保险公司LV=在年度育儿成本报告中提供的数据，将孩子抚养到21岁的成本已经达到22.2万英镑，比去年多出4000英镑，比十年前多出8.2万英镑。

LV=公司预测到如果育儿成本以当前的速度继续增长下去，到2023年育儿费用将高达35万英镑。

由于经济拮据的父母要同时应付家庭支出上涨、工资冻结以及儿童补贴缩减的困境，此报告对于这些努力工作的家庭来说无疑是又一波重大的打击。原先年薪超过6万英镑的单收入家庭和其中一人年薪超过5万英镑的家庭都有权得到儿童补贴，生第一个孩子每周能得到20.3英镑，再生更多的孩子每周还能得到13.4英镑。然而这项政策在本月早些时候被取消了，第一类家庭将得不到任何补贴，第二类家庭的补贴将有所减少。

今天公布的研究表明，在过去十年里除了服装领域的花费下降了5%，其它领域的开支均有所上升，其中教育开支上涨最多。

结果超过四分之三的父母都被迫节衣缩食以维持生计。LV=公司宣称，五分之二的家庭现在严格控制度假等享乐性开支，三分之一的家庭还在削减食物等必需品的开支。

教育和儿童保育仍旧是父母最大的开支项目。在过去十年里，每个孩子的平均教育支出（包括校服、课外俱乐部和大学费用）从3.26万英镑飙升到了7.28万英镑。

儿童保育费用也从2003年的3.96万英镑飙升到现在的6.37万英镑。

联合政府的议程上幼儿保育的费用也逐日攀升。联合政府中期评审会议通过的最主要的政策是给有五岁以下幼儿的父母每个孩子免2000英镑的税收，而这项计划最近却被取消了。

电子设备的开支成为家庭预算中新的财务压力，每年在这方面的开支已上升至320英镑。度假开支也从十年前的1.15万英镑上升到1.62万英镑。不过，这两个方面开支增长很可能是因为可自由支配的开支增多，而不只是因为物价上涨。

LV=公司的保护部负责人马克•琼斯表示：“抚养孩子的成本持续攀升，目前已达到十年以来的最高峰。”

“每个家长都想给自己的孩子最好的，但日益上涨的生活费用即将掏空父母的钱袋。而且没有迹象显示这一趋势会逆转。如果父母养育孩子的成本继续以当前的速度上涨的话，十年后育儿成本将超过35万英镑。”