Costs of children

This paper provides up-to-date estimates of the costs of raising children in Australia. It discusses approaches to measuring the costs of raising children, how the research has been updated since previous studies, and components of the lifetime cost of a child estimate: housing, energy, food, clothing, household goods and services, child care, health, transport, leisure and personal care. It presents a table of results for each capital city in Australia and for two types of family - the first with two adults working full-time, with adequate living standards, and the second for one unemployed parent and one full-time carer, with low-cost living standards. Note, there is no fixed or absolute cost of a child. The cost of raising a child increases with household income, the cost of the first child is often greater than that for each subsequent child, and costs generally tend to increase with the age of the child.

For most families, the arrival of a newborn child marks a time of happiness and joy; however, it can also be a time of increased stress, some of which may be due to greater pressure on the family budget. The arrival of a newborn is also of key interest to policy makers, especially those seeking to assist families financially to successfully negotiate this important life cycle transition. Although a body of Australian research has examined the costs of raising children more generally, only these authors have specifically reported on how newborns affect household budgets. This article extends the authors' prior work using data from waves 6 to 8 of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. The study focuses on partnered women aged between 15 and 47 years and their families. This gave a sample of 1,199 households, and included 411 births over the three-year period. Fixed effects linear regression models are used to estimate whether different categories of household expenditure are typically higher or lower when a newborn arrives. Measureable differences in expenditure patterns associated with the birth of a first-born, second-born or third- or subsequent-born child are discussed.

"The Making a Difference Project was designed to explore the perceptions of children and young people (aged between 11 and 17 years) who experience economic adversity in order to understand what it means to them, how they experience exclusion in the family, at school, and in the communities where they live, and identify what services they think can make a difference.The project adopted a rights perspective which emphasises the importance not only of listening to children, but of using their perspectives in making decisions on matters affecting them. Over 130 interviews with children and their parents, and with teachers and service providers were analysed to explore implications for the quality, design and delivery of social, educational and other services available to young people facing economic adversity" -- Introduction.

"Since 1960, the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) has provided estimates of annual expenditures on children from birth through age 17. This technical report presents the 2011 estimates for husband-wife and single-parent families ... Expenditures are provided by age of children, household income level, major budgetary component (housing, food, etc.), and region (for husband-wife families)."--Executive summary.

"Since 1960, the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) has provided estimates of annual expenditures on children from birth through age 17. This technical report presents the 2010 estimates for husband-wife and single-parent families ... Expenditures are provided by age of children, household income level, major budgetary component (housing, food, etc.), and region (for husband-wife families)."--Executive summary.

In addition to environment problems, financial crises, and the ageing population, this article argues that western societies also face a new threat - the fragility and instability of family life. The article discusses the growth of family instability in the West, the rise in nonmarital cohabitation and single mothers, the financial impact of single or separated parents on private transfers and social insurance, the impact on the provision of care by adult children to their parents, and the implications for public policy.

For most families, the arrival of a newborn child marks a time of happiness and joy; however, it can also be a time of increased stress, some of which may be due to greater pressure on the family budget. The arrival of a newborn is also of key interest to policy makers, especially those seeking to assist families financially to successfully negotiate this important life cycle transition. Although a body of Australian research has examined the costs of raising children more generally, only these authors have specifically reported on how newborns affect household budgets. This article extends the authors' prior work using data from waves 6 to 8 of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. The study focuses on partnered women aged between 15 and 47 years and their families. This gave a sample of 1,199 households, and included 411 births over the three-year period. Fixed effects linear regression models are used to estimate whether different categories of household expenditure are typically higher or lower when a newborn arrives. Measureable differences in expenditure patterns associated with the birth of a first-born, second-born or third- or subsequent-born child are discussed.

According to the Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society, the cost of raising a child has risen by 50% in the last seven years, which is a higher increase than inflation alone. This publication examines the different costs associated with raising a child in Great Britain today, and compares it with the annual estimates from 2003 to 2010. It also looks at the average cost of raising a child in different areas of Great Britain, and for different age groups. This publication features calculations compiled by the Centre of Economic and Business Research (CEBR) and omnibus research with 527 parents conducted by Opinium Research.

"Since 1960, the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) has provided estimates of annual expenditures on children from birth through age 17. This technical report presents the 2009 estimates for husband-wife and single-parent families ... Expenditures are provided by age of children, household income level, major budgetary component (housing, food, etc.), and region (for husband-wife families)."--Executive summary.

An understanding of the changed financial circumstances of families with newborn children is important to a range of current policy debates, including those surrounding the provision of family assistance, women?s attachment to the labour force and paid parental leave. Although there is a body of Australian research on the costs of raising children, in most cases this has been undertaken to enable the calculation of child support entitlement or to evaluate the effects of policy designed to reverse the effects of an ageing demographic. These studies do not report specifically on expenses associated with the arrival of newborn children. To address this gap in the evidence base, the current study investigates changes in household expenditure associated with the arrival of newborn children for three groups of families - those experiencing the arrival of their first, second, or third and subsequent-born children. Household spending items in Waves 6 and 7 (2006 and 2007) of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey are used to estimate whether different categories of expenditure typically increase or decrease for couple families with the arrival of newborn children. This study shows that a range of expenditure categories are influenced by the arrival of a new baby. Parents of first-born children increase expenditure on health care and clothing. Parents of second-born children increase expenditure on health care, and on meals eaten out and takeaway; however, they decrease expenditure on child care. Parents of third and subsequent-born children increase expenditure on health care.

Estimates of the costs of children are used in the design of a wide range of economic and social policies. This paper provides a review of the different approaches that have been used to define the costs of a child and the estimation methods used. The paper summarises the results of Australian estimates of the costs of children since 1985. An important conclusion is that there is no unambiguous 'true cost' of a child and that the estimated costs are sensitive to the estimation method used. One way of producing costs of children for policy purposes is to take the average of all available credible estimates. This approach is used in this paper.

This paper questions the basis upon which children are considered to be a 'cost'. It proposes an alternative method of estimating the cost of children: if children are a 'cost' then couples who have children should end up with lower net wealth than comparable couples without children or with fewer children. Using data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, it models changes in married couples' wealth between 2002 and 2006, reviewing the number children they have, and taking into account the impact on parents' labour force participation.

"Since 1960, the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) has provided estimates of annual expenditures on children from birth through age 17. This technical report presents the 2008 estimates for husband-wife and single-parent families. Results are shown in tables 1-7 at the end of this report. Expenditures are provided by age of children, household income level, major budgetary component (housing, food, etc.), and region (for husband-wife families)."--Executive summary.

"We propose a new methodology to estimate the share of household income accruing to children (i.e., the cost of children). Following the principle of the Rothbarth approach, the identification of the children's share requires the observation of at least one adult-specific good. However, our method differs from this traditional approach in that it allows measuring economies of scale in the household and indifference scales in Lewbel (2003)'s sense. We illustrate the method with an application on the French Household Budget Survey."--Author abstract.

"We apply an extension of the Rothbarth approach to estimate the share of household resources accruing to children (i.e., the cost of children) in Ireland. The method also allows us to identify the economies of scale in the household and indifference scales in Lewbel (2003)'s sense. A practical aspect of the present approach is that it does not require price variation. The identification of the children's share requires the observation of adult-specific goods as in the traditional Rothbarth method. We compare our findings to previous results for Ireland."--Author abstract.

Improving the nutrition of children and reducing rates of childhood overweight and obesity have been high priorities for the New Zealand Government since 2000. The rates of childhood overweight and obesity vary by ethnic group and socio-economic status, and reducing inequalities in the burden of childhood overweight and obesity is an explicit aim of the Government. This paper aims to identify policy options that will have an impact on the economic drivers of childhood nutrition and obesity. A qualitative model of the economic determinants of childhood nutrition within a household setting is presented. The model identifies cost barriers to sufficient healthy food as a key factor in the foods purchased and consumed within a household. An analysis of New Zealand household economic and nutritional data then identifies policy options to improve childhood nutrition and reduce rates of overweight and obesity. These policy options focus on cost subsidies for non-discretionary household expenditure and reducing the price of food to increase access to nutritious foods, including fruit and vegetables.

Findings from research into the costs of raising children in Australia at September 2008 are summarised. The report discusses approaches to measuring the costs of raising children, how the research has been updated since previous studies, and components of the lifetime cost of a child estimate: housing, energy, food, clothing, household goods and services, child care, health, transport, leisure and personal care. It presents results for two family types and a break-down for each capital city in Australia.

Findings from research into the costs of raising children in Australia at June 2008 are summarised. The report discusses approaches to measuring the costs of raising children, how the research has been updated since previous studies, and components of the lifetime cost of a child estimate: housing, energy, food, clothing, household goods and services, child care, health, transport, leisure and personal care. It presents results for two family types and a break-down for each capital city in Australia.

Findings from research into the costs of raising children in Australia at March 2008 are summarised. The report discusses approaches to measuring the costs of raising children, how the research has been updated since previous studies, and components of the lifetime cost of a child estimate: housing, energy, food, clothing, household goods and services, child care, health, transport, leisure and personal care. It presents results for two family types and a break-down for each capital city in Australia.

Findings from research into the costs of raising children in Australia at September 2007 are summarised. The report discusses approaches to measuring the costs of raising children, how the research has been updated since previous studies, and components of the lifetime cost of a child estimate: housing, energy, food, clothing, household goods and services, child care, health, transport, leisure and personal care. It presents results for two family types and a break-down for each capital city in Australia.

Findings from research into the costs of raising children in Australia at June 2007 are summarised. The report discusses approaches to measuring the costs of raising children, how the research has been updated since previous studies, and components of the lifetime cost of a child estimate: housing, energy, food, clothing, household goods and services, child care, health, transport, leisure and personal care. It presents results for two family types and a break-down for each capital city in Australia.

Findings from research into the costs of raising children in Australia at December 2007 are summarised. The report discusses approaches to measuring the costs of raising children, how the research has been updated since previous studies, and components of the lifetime cost of a child estimate: housing, energy, food, clothing, household goods and services, child care, health, transport, leisure and personal care. It presents results for two family types and a break-down for each capital city in Australia.

Findings from research into the costs of raising children in Australia from January to March 2007 are summarised. The report looks at approaches to measuring the costs of raising children, how the research was updated since previous studies, and components of the lifetime cost of a child estimate: housing, energy, food, clothing, household goods and services, child care, health, transport, leisure and personal care. It provides data for the cost of a first child at several different ages in two family types and for the capital city of each state and territory in Australia.

Findings from research into the costs of raising children in Australia from September to December 2006 are summarised. The report looks at approaches to measuring the costs of raising children, how the research was updated since previous studies, and components of the lifetime cost of a child estimate: housing, energy, food, clothing, household goods and services, child care, health, transport, leisure and personal care. It provides data for the cost of a first child at several different ages in two family types and for the capital city of each state and territory in Australia.

Findings from research into the costs of raising children in Australia from June to September 2006 are summarised. The report looks at approaches to measuring the costs of raising children, how the research was updated since previous studies, and components of the lifetime cost of a child estimate: housing, energy, food, clothing, household goods and services, child care, health, transport, leisure and personal care. It provides data for the cost of a first child at several different ages in two family types and for the capital city of each state and territory in Australia.

"Since 1960, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has provided estimates of expenditures on children from birth through age 17. This technical report presents the 2007 estimates for husband-wife and single-parent families ... For husband-wife families, estimates are for three income groups and for single-parent families, two income groups ... [E]stimates are also provided for husband-wife families in urban areas in four regions (West, Northeast, South, and Midwest) and for rural areas throughout the United States, as well as for the United States overall ... Expenditures on children are estimated for the major budgetary components: Housing, food, transportation, clothing, health care, child care and education, and miscellaneous goods and services."--Executive summary.

This study aimed to investigate how much households with dependent children spend on active recreation (physical activity) compared with screen-based (sedentary) recreation, according to their household socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. The study analysed data from the 2003-04 Australian Bureau of Statistics Household Expenditure Survey, which collected information on household expenditure from a representational cross-section of private dwellings across Australia. The results showed that overall, Australian families spend more money on screen recreation items than they do on active recreation, although there are strong economic and cultural gradients in their patterns of expenditure on both active and screen recreation. This suggests that while the costs of active recreation may be a barrier to participation for some families, there are also social and cultural values influencing recreational choices.

This report presents findings from a qualitative and quantitative study on the effects of a child's death on a family's relationships and finance. It includes a literature review, and a survey of 103 bereaved families in Victoria and in depth interviews. As well as understanding the wider effects of bereavement during the first three years following a child's death, the report also provides recommendations on supportive policies and practices for services and work places, and comments on helpful behaviours by friends and family.

What did Australian children cost in 2007 and what do children cost over a lifetime? This report calculates the cost of raising children from birth until leaving home for three typical families - in low, middle and high income brackets. It looks at how the family unit is changing, the effect of children staying at home for longer, child care costs, education and other costs, how parents meet these costs, and whether children are costing more these days than in previous generations.