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It's a world of million-dollar babies
Source: Agencies |
November 28, 2009, Saturday
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THINK your children are costing you a lot? You're right, with an Australian study finding that the average child now costs A$1 million (US$917,000) to raise, taking into account toys, holidays and other activities.
A study on Generation Z and the cost of parenting by social analyst Mark McCrindle found a government estimate that it cost A$384,543 to raise a child to 18 was way off as this did not include private education, holidays or "non-essential" items.
It also assumed that children would leave home at 18, but this was no longer the case with Generation Z, those born after 1995, as the costs of accommodation and bills were a deterrent to moving out.
"In today's Australian families the majority of young people stay in the parental home and rely on their parents for some of their expenses until their mid 20s," McCrindle from McCrindle Research said in his report.
"Therefore the cost per household to raise children to age 24 is A$834,000."
Then must be added the "non-essential" yet "usual" child rearing expenses such as toys, holidays and travel, dining and entertainment, private tutoring and education, sports and activities, furniture and household equipment dedicated to the children's use.
This boosted costs by another A$3,000 per child per year.
"This takes the total parental cost to raise the average number of children (2.7) in Australia to A$1,028,093," he said.
McCrindle said that today's parents have more money to spend on children than their parents did, making Generation Z the most financial endowed generation of children ever.
McCrindle's research, based on a survey of 4,500 Australians, found the average Australian child had more than 100 toys but that parents threw out or gave away only five toys a year.
Almost all Australians admitted spending more than A$100 on toys per child each year, with a small portion saying they splashed out A$500.
"The 21st Century has ushered in a new life stage: the tweens. Such is the growing sophistication and marketing influence ... that these pre-teens are fashion aware, brand conscious and peer influenced as much as yesterday's teenagers," he said.
The A$1 million price tag was broken down into food costing A$206,000, housing and utilities A$165,000, recreation and entertainment A$157,000, health and other services A$153,000, clothing and equipment A$129,000, transportation A$123,000, and education and child care A$95,000.
A study on Generation Z and the cost of parenting by social analyst Mark McCrindle found a government estimate that it cost A$384,543 to raise a child to 18 was way off as this did not include private education, holidays or "non-essential" items.
It also assumed that children would leave home at 18, but this was no longer the case with Generation Z, those born after 1995, as the costs of accommodation and bills were a deterrent to moving out.
"In today's Australian families the majority of young people stay in the parental home and rely on their parents for some of their expenses until their mid 20s," McCrindle from McCrindle Research said in his report.
"Therefore the cost per household to raise children to age 24 is A$834,000."
Then must be added the "non-essential" yet "usual" child rearing expenses such as toys, holidays and travel, dining and entertainment, private tutoring and education, sports and activities, furniture and household equipment dedicated to the children's use.
This boosted costs by another A$3,000 per child per year.
"This takes the total parental cost to raise the average number of children (2.7) in Australia to A$1,028,093," he said.
McCrindle said that today's parents have more money to spend on children than their parents did, making Generation Z the most financial endowed generation of children ever.
McCrindle's research, based on a survey of 4,500 Australians, found the average Australian child had more than 100 toys but that parents threw out or gave away only five toys a year.
Almost all Australians admitted spending more than A$100 on toys per child each year, with a small portion saying they splashed out A$500.
"The 21st Century has ushered in a new life stage: the tweens. Such is the growing sophistication and marketing influence ... that these pre-teens are fashion aware, brand conscious and peer influenced as much as yesterday's teenagers," he said.
The A$1 million price tag was broken down into food costing A$206,000, housing and utilities A$165,000, recreation and entertainment A$157,000, health and other services A$153,000, clothing and equipment A$129,000, transportation A$123,000, and education and child care A$95,000.
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