Cost of raising a child hits £271,000

The spiralling cost of raising a family could deter parents from having more children, new research suggests.

The cost of bringing up a child has spiralled to more than 270,000, according to insurer Aviva. It said day-to-day costs including school trips, food and clothing add significantly to the growing big ticket expenses such as university fees and childcare, with parents spending up to 271,499 on each child up to the age of 21 on average.

Two-thirds of parents say the rising costs mean they cannot afford to have more children, even if they want to, while 58 per cent of parents with only one child said they were not planning to have any more.