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 SEPTEMBER MADNESS: THE BACK TO SCHOOL AFTERMATH 19/09/2005
Parents all over the country have been relishing the thought of spending the autumn months alone, with the kids safely ensconced at school. However, now that the little ones have gone back, many are counting the cost, a new survey by popular UK debit card, Maestro has revealed. The average UK parent has spent a whopping £150 so far on sending their child back to school this month. Cash tills ring to the sound of the school bell The statistics show that on average, parents can expect to spend a total of £150 on all the expenses that sending the kids to school entails. Not only are they expected to shell out an average of £60 just on the compulsory school uniform, costs quickly mount up with the average parent spending around £90 on the other trappings of school kit including £20 on PE kit and expenditure on other essential items, such as stationery, books and school bags. In addition, parents each spend an average of £12 on travel passes. It would also seem that the older children get, the more expensive they become, as parents of secondary school children spend almost twice as much on their child, than those of primary school children, forking out around £200 as opposed to £105. The extra cost is due to the fact that spending on uniforms increases by £25 from £45 to £70, with additional expense driving the total cost up by another £70. Londoners are the top spenders when it comes to kitting out their kid, with the average parent spending around £175, whilst the Scots tend to make their money stretch the furthest, buying everything their little one needs, for an average of just £120. Interestingly, divorced parents spend more than married couples or single parents ensuring their children have all the best gear. The average divorcee is happy to spend £25 more than the national average, perhaps attempting to please their children following an acrimonious split. Kid-ult school Kraze Children in the 21st century are constantly striving to be more grown-up and independent, which could be part of the reason why the majority choose to stroll to school alone or with friends. Over 50 per cent get to school on foot, with around 30 per cent still partaking of the much maligned school run. A further 20 per cent get to school using the bus or train. Despite public pressure to ease road congestion and help the environment by sharing the school run with others, 80 per cent of school runners admit to driving their kids to school by themselves rather than forming car pools. With so many children travelling to school without their parents, it is perhaps unsurprising that many now sport mobile phones. Two thirds of secondary school kids take their mobiles to school with them. Kids seem increasingly style conscious and compete with their peers from an early age, with 17 per cent wearing jewellery to school. Scottish school children are the most acquisitive, with 40 per cent taking mobiles to school and over a quarter showing off their accessories. The increasing amount of modern accessories seems to conflict with the traditional past time of sewing in name labels. Indeed, only half of parents questioned said they spent time naming their child's new school kit. Happy days The belief that parents must work hard to drag their screaming and kicking children back to school seems to be wrong, as it is revealed that over 60 per cent of children are actually happy to go back to school. Primary school kids are particularly happy to go back, with over three quarters eager to dash up the school steps once more. Those in Yorkshire are the keenest with 70 per cent of school children happy to be at school again, whilst those in the North East were the most reluctant with 13 per cent actually having a temper tantrum in the desperate struggle to stay at home. Yet discontent is not limited to the North East, as even though kids are generally happy to be back at school, 32 per cent of parents admit to arguing with their children during the build-up to this term. Londoners are the most argumentative, with 40 per cent having domestic confrontations with their brats, whereas in the peaceful South West, only 22 per cent of families end up fighting. Nigel Turner, Marketing Director of Maestro UK, said: "Now that the new academic year has started, many parents are feeling exhausted, both emotionally and financially. "The fact that going to school costs so much is quite surprising and just goes to show how much care parents need to take with their finances, as there is always a hidden cost ready to upset your budgeting." NOTES TO EDITORS: Research was conducted by Experian among a sample of 1,600 parents across Great Britain For further information, please contact: | |
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