Families using credit cards just to make ends meet

Childcare costs continue to be on the rise, with an average full-time place now costing £158 per week. For a family with two children in full-time childcare the costs can be a staggering £16,432 per year.

These figures paint a gloomy picture for families who are already finding it difficult to make ends meet. This has been revealed today with the launch of the 2013 Childcare Cost Survey Report by local charity Employers For Childcare Charitable Group.

Almost 4,500 parents completed the survey. Employers For Childcare is truly concerned by some of the responses with many parents reporting that they are really struggling financially. Many use credit cards at the end of each month for essential commodities because childcare has already consumed a large proportion of their income. One parent stated “I am always overdrawn at the end of a month. I sometimes have to use credit cards for food bills”.

 

Marie Marin, Chief Executive Officer, Employers For Childcare Charitable Group commented “The high cost of childcare can be crippling for families. In order to manage the high cost parents are making financial sacrifices and changing their employment patterns. Parents have noted that making these changes can have a number of negative outcomes for families; putting additional strain on the wider family (particularly grandparents), impacting heavily on family finances and causing long-term career damage. It begs the question does it pay to work?”

 

63% of parents said that they struggle with their childcare costs either throughout the year or at some point during it. The rising costs of childcare also continues to have a negative impact on Northern Ireland’s labour market with 46% of parents stating that the high cost of childcare caused them to reduce their working hours, either by changing to part-time hours or by leaving work altogether.

 

Anne-Louise Thompson, mum of three clearly depicts the impact that paying for childcare is having on their family finances ”A childcare bill is a major consideration for your budget as it is an essential outlay and not something you can do without. There is very little help for the silent poor who work full-time and don’t qualify for any benefits but have to pay for everything. A lot of people are not benefiting financially from working but have no choice but to work. With the cost of fuel, food, energy and childcare rising way beyond the rate that salaries are rising, something needs to give.”

 

Last updated 10 years 3 months ago