Raising a child 'costs £166,000'

The cost of bringing up a child is rising sharply

It costs on average £166,000 to raise a child from birth until age 21, according to Liverpool Victoria friendly society.

The total cost, equivalent to £22 a day, has increased by 8% during the past year, the group said.

Overall, the cost of bringing up a child is only marginally below the price of an average house.

Childcare was the biggest expense, costing parents on average £46,000 per child.

Education expense

This is the third year that Liverpool Victoria has calculated the costs of bringing up a child.

Each year the group has found costs rising far faster than both prices and wages.

This can be partly attributed to the rising costs of education.

Education is a major expense, with parents spending £37,142 on average.

Most of this expense occurs when the child goes to university. On average putting a child through university costs parents £25,572.

Unsurprisingly, the group found that London was the costliest place to bring up a child, with parents forking out £176,449 on average.

At the other end of the scale, the West Midlands and Scotland were the cheapest places to bring up children.