School holidays cost parents £1,400 per child

PARENTS will spend more than £1,400 on childcare and entertainment for each of their children during the school holidays this year, a report has revealed.

And Easter holidays and a succession of Bank Holidays will place parents under ever-greater financial pressure, as the cost of keeping the children occupied will be on average 267 per child over the coming month.

According to new research into the cost of childcare during the holidays, a collision of the Easter break and back-to-back public holidays for the Royal wedding and May Day will see parents spending 100 per child on average in childcare costs and 167 per child in activities. The additional Royal wedding break alone will see an extra 206 million added to 2011's childcare and entertainment costs.

While the wedding may be a chance for parents to spend more time with their children, for one in ten foremost in their minds is how they will manage the childcare cost of two bank holidays in quick succession, while 12 per cent are worried that they will struggle to keep the children entertained.

One parent, Catherine Happer, a research assistant at Glasgow University who has two sons, aged nine and one-and-a-half, said the run of school holidays is expensive. "I've just returned to work after an extended maternity leave, and this is the first time I've faced the problem of childcare with this spring break.

"Everybody had warned me about the cost of child care, but I was absolutely horrified, I got a real shock. My one-and-a-half- year-old is having to go into nursery because I'm not on holiday, while my eldest child goes to what is called The After School Club, but in fact he attends it all day during the holidays. So you have the cost of essentially what is a nursery for a child aged nine and then an actual nursery for my younger one.

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She added: "My eldest son is not in school for a single Friday during April and then we have the bank holidays in May, so we're talking about lots and lots of holidays, way more than we had in the past."

But beyond the immediate cost of the spring break, figures for holiday-related costs covering the whole school year show a cost of 1,429 per child, or 18.8 billion collectively.

This is made up of parents paying 6.9bn in childcare costs, or 533 per child, and 12bn keeping their offspring entertained, the equivalent of 895 per child, with the likes of trips to the cinema, days out or activities such as dance and music classes throughout the year.

Mrs Happer said that when she was able to take care of her children herself, the cost of entertaining her elder son is high: "A trip to the cinema usually costs 15, and that's before the sweets which can be pretty expensive as well, for two hours of entertainment."We are going to the theatre next week, and that's 20 for tickets and that's before we've bought refreshments or anything else. Swimming is a cheaper alternative, but again once you add on the canteen, it's not that cheap.

"You've always got to keep them entertained, you've got to be very creative in finding things for them to do, and everything costs money."

According to insurance company LV's Cost of a Child Report, the average school child will have 64 days holiday this year, and nearly half of parents have to pay for childcare during these breaks, spending an average of 84 a week per child, adding up to 536m collectively a week. Parents with children aged seven to ten years old look set to spend the most on activities - at 86 per child per week on average.

The report showed that more than a third of parents believed the costs associated with school holidays this year are unaffordable and a quarter were actively looking at ways to cut back by favouring low or no-cost activities such as watching DVDs at home, visiting relatives or trips to the park.

Childcare expert Joanne Mallon, who has two children, aged seven and 11, said that the rising cost of holidays for parents was unavoidable.

"The cost of care and entertainment during holidays is very much an issue for parents. You only have to step outside the door and things start costing you money.

"I do think mothers are becoming creative at finding solutions to childcare issues. They may well do a childcare swap with somebody who is working - I do this quite often, where I will look after somebody's children for an afternoon if they are working and they will look after mine for a morning."

Ms Mallon added there was a habit among some parents to "over-schedule" their children's holidays, planning activities for each day.

"I do believe that a child needs to get a bit bored to allow their imaginations to kick in. I don't think it does them any harm at all, they need a little time to be left to their own devices."

Helping out

Almost 30 per cent of people on gap year trips have to be bailed out by the "bank of mum and dad", according to a survey.

A total of 29 per cent turn to their parents for financial help while away, the poll by Post Office Travel Insurance found.

As many as 20 per cent run out of money in the first three months, with the amount that parents give their children averaging 772.

Gap year travellers also help fund their trips with credit cards, overdrafts, bank loans and student loans.

Based on responses from 1,024 people who had been on gap year trips in the last five years, the poll also showed that 9 per cent resorted to finding work while away to help finance their trips. As many as 43 per cent of those did not have a working visa despite this being a legal requirement.

The survey also showed the average spent on a gap year trip, including flights and spending money, was 3,736.

Some 12 per cent spent more than 8,000.