Soaring childcare rates are behind the total cost increase of more than £2,500 in a year and £13,000 in five years, according to research published by insurer LV=.

 

Nursery, nanny and babysitting fees, particularly in the preschool years, now account for nearly a third of the total expense of raising a child to adulthood².

 

Childcare charges account for £70,466, according to this year's figures, up from £67,586 last year and £50,592 ten years ago.

 

Education, which includes school uniform, trips, textbooks and university tuition fees, also makes up nearly a third of the total budget, costing £74,430 throughout the child's life.

 

A private education at a day school would add £141,863 on average to the total, while boarding school would add £260,927, according to the research compiled by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR).

 

A further £19,004 on average was spent by parents on feeding their child, £10,942 on clothing, and £4,614 on pocket money.

 

The bill for entertaining a child was also high, with £16,882 spent on holidays, £9,307 on hobbies and toys and £7,464 on leisure and recreation.

 

Parents paid an average of £14,195 for one-offs such as birthday and Christmas presents and driving lessons.

 

The most expensive years were between the ages of one and four, when parents spend a total of £63,224 on average.

 

These years also saw the biggest rise in cost year-on-year, with the total up 3.5 per cent on 2015 prices.

 

London was the most expensive place to bring up a child, with the total cost in excess of quarter of a million pounds - £253,638. It was £214,559 in the cheapest region, Yorkshire and the Humber.

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