Global Parents day- economist guide to what we owe our parents!

The United Nations has delcared 1st June global parents day
It calls upon nations to recognise the role and sacrifice made by many parents worldwide.
Here is our quick guide to the economics of parental sacrifice.

What does it cost to raise a child?

The annual survey by LV and CEBR found that in 2016 the average cost of bringing up a child from birth to 21 was £231,843
this was a raise of 2.2% in 2015.

One of the highest costs is childcare. The Annual Family and Childcare Trust survey has been recording data in 2002.
in 2017 it stated that

Childcare costs families more than double what they spend on food and drink.

It has also noted the high costs of child care and activities during school holidays. This has been reiterated in a Child Poverty Action Group Survey

How about the bank of mum and dad?

In recent years many parents have also taken on the financial burden of assisting their children onto the property ladded.

According to a recent report from the Guardian the  'so-called bank of mum and dad will help fund property purchases worth about £75bn in 2017,  including deposits for more than 298,000 mortgages'

this relates to research commissioned by Legal and General.The full text report and infographics can be downloaded form the website

Loss of sleep.

Parents also lose sleep which economists have estimated effects their economic productivity and careeer prospects.

See this review of economic literature on employment and sleep deprivation published on Vox EU

Read the full text working paper  

Costa-Font, Joan and Flèche, Sarah (2017) Parental sleep and employment: evidence from a British cohort study. CEP Discussion Papers, CEPDP1467. Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.

which found that 'A one-hour reduction in sleep duration significantly decreases labour force participation, the number of hour’s worked and household income'.

However being a parent may mean more happiness !

Some more positive reviews of the benefits in terms of life satisfaction from Psychology Today

remember this is only partial there are others showing the opposite.

one of the positive studies it mentions is In defense of Parenthood- by nelson et al which in a review of 3 studies finds that  contrary to previous reports, parents (and especially fathers) report relatively higher levels of happiness, positive emotion, and meaning in life than do nonparents.