The average cost of raising a child to the age of 18 is £154,440, up 15% from 2011, according to Legal and General's 2013 Value of a Parent report. It also found that it would cost £31,500 to replace a mother's contribution to domestic chores over the course of a year.
The report, which surveyed parents with at least one child aged 18 or under living with them and new and expectant Mums, looked at the monetary value that can be attributed to parents' domestic chores including cleaning, cooking and household shopping.
The value of a Dad's contribution around the house is significant too, climbing 13% from figures recorded in 2011 to £24,000 a year. The findings also revealed that the average day to day cost of raising a child is £8,580 per year. UK Mums also spend 71 hours a week ensuring the home runs smoothly while Dad spends 53.5 hours and new and expectant Mums are 'on duty' for 72.5 hours a week.
Despite nearly three quarters of parents saying their top financial priority is to ensure their children are looked after if they were unable to due to death or illness, less than a third of parents have any critical illness cover in place (29%), and even fewer have income protection (14%) or family income benefit (12%).
