Study reveals the perception conception vs reality for new parents
With recent figures revealing the average cost of raising a child in the UK now stands at over £75,000, financial comparison site money.co.uk studied 2,000 parents and expectant parents to reveal how new Mums and Dads are preparing for a new member of the family financially.
3 in 4 parents will take shared leave in the future
Shared parental leave allows parents to share up to 50 weeks of maternity leave and 37 weeks of statutory pay after their baby arrives. This scheme was introduced in the UK by the government in April 2015. The findings from the survey suggest we’ll see a huge surge in parents taking advantage of the scheme ; 58% of expectant parents will be sharing parental leave, in comparison to just 16% who’ve had their child in the last five years.
This steady rise in shared leave could be a positive move towards improved paternity rights and narrowing the gender pay gap, however, 1 in 2 prospective fathers still admit they’re unlikely to share parental leave because they earn more money than their partner.
Of the 2000 people surveyed, 64% of parents told us they share the cost of raising a child equally with their partner, suggesting the roles in relationships are shifting. When surveyed, 70% of current parents from the last five years said they hadn’t taken shared leave. What our survey suggests is new parents of 2018 have a different attitude to raising children, with a more equal approach than just five years ago.
Nicola Miller, a PR Manager from London said:
“Shared Parental leave worked for us because it meant my partner was able to stay at home for eight weeks instead of the standard 1-2 offered by paternity leave and still receive statutory pay.
I’d definitely recommend shared parental leave to other parents, it’s a surprisingly flexible way for you and your partner to spend more time bonding with your newborn without being financially penalised for doing so”.
Hannah Maundrell, Editor in Chief of money.co.uk, said:
“The cost of raising a child is increasing year on year and we wanted to dig a little deeper into how much this impacts new Mums and Dads. It’s safe to say expecting parents are facing a growing trend of expensive activities both pre and post birth, which is forcing people to buck traditional trends like getting married to start a family.
When planning a family, it’s important to sit down and budget. There are a number of surprising costs that will add to your monthly outgoings, including during the conception stage, so it’s important to get your finances sorted. Don’t feel pressured into throwing a gender reveal party or buying the latest pushchair if it’s going to leave you in debt – the most important thing to a child is unconditional love, which money can’t buy.
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Rebecca joined the HRreview editorial team in January 2016. After graduating from the University of Sheffield Hallam in 2013 with a BA in English Literature, Rebecca has spent five years working in print and online journalism in Manchester and London. In the past she has been part of the editorial teams at Sleeper and Dezeen and has founded her own arts collective.
