Parents resort to credit cards as childcare costs swallow up to half of incomes

18 February 2024 , 09:23

780     0

Almost a fifth of parents said they spend more than half their household income on childcare (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Four in 10 parents of under-fives in England say they’re taking on debt or using their savings to pay for childcare, a poll has found.

Campaigners warned that becoming a parent will become a “luxury item” without action to tackle the spiralling cost. The survey by campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed found 45% of parents were relying on debt or savings for childcare, compared to 35% a year ago.

Just over a third (37%) reported having to use credit cards, take out a loan or borrow money from family or friends, while more than a fifth (22%) said they had to withdraw money from savings or their pension. For single parents, the proportion having to rely on debt or savings rose to almost two thirds.

More than half (53%) of parents surveyed said they spend more than a quarter of their household income on childcare, while almost a fifth (19.3%) spend more than half their household income on childcare.

A fifth of mothers felt unable to take up a more senior role because of childcare costs and availability, compared with around 9% of fathers, according to the survey. Almost a quarter of mothers said they were considering leaving the workforce thanks to childcare costs or availability.

Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade

Joeli Brearley, founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, said: "We've not only got a cost-of-living crisis, we've got a cost-of-working crisis that disproportionately impacts mothers." She said many parents who want to have more children "cannot afford to do so". She added: "If we aren't careful, becoming a parent will be a luxury item, and the economy can't afford to pay that price."

Pregnant Then Screwed said it surveyed 35,800 parents, from which Women In Data extracted what it described as a nationally representative sample of 5,870 parents.

A spokeswoman for Women In Data said: "Collectively we need to close the gender gap and remove the challenges women face to achieve equality of opportunities in the workplace and reduce the burden of the unspoken 'tax' on mothers from additional unpaid labour as carers and in the home."

A Department for Education spokesman said: "We are rolling out the largest ever expansion in childcare support in England's history, saving families using the full 30 funded hours up to £6,500 per year.

"Our average funding rates for new entitlements are expected to be substantially higher than the average hourly fees paid by parents last year, and we are already seeing providers looking to expand their placements across the country."

John Stevens