Keeping up with mums and dads costs parents £1.5billion

07/07/2011

UK parents are spending £1.5billion a year after feeling the pressure to keep up with an increasing number of ‘Tiger’ mums and competitive dads.

A study of 2,000 parents of children under the age of 18, conducted by insurance group Aviva, found that 63 per cent stated that they regularly encounter competition from fellow parents.

Parents are paying more and more in order to be seen to keep up with those around them, with competition arising in areas including breastfeeding, sporting talents and physical appearance.

One in four UK parents admitted that their expenditure has risen in an attempt to keep up with other mums and dads, spending an average of £463 per child per year.

The head of protection for Aviva, Louise Colley, said: “It’s only natural that proud parents want to share their children’s achievements from time to time, but there’s a worry that people are focusing on relatively trivial things, or even worse, wasting money in order to compete with others.

“Even though mums and dads say financial security for their children is important, it’s rarely a subject even discussed with other parents, let alone boasted about – but it probably should be. Aviva research shows that fewer than one in ten families feel adequately protected, so if there’s one thing we’d encourage people to get competitive about, this is it.”

According to 64 per cent of Aviva’s respondents, it is female friends who are most likely to brag. The East Midlands was also found to be the most competitive area, with a 77 per cent competitive rating, closely followed by Scotland at 74 per cent.

Aviva offers £10,000 worth of free life cover to new parents, per parent, per child up to their first birthday.

Tags; Current UK Economy, Income Worries and Debt, Budgeting Advice, Young Family Finances,

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