New mums and dads are spending thousands of pounds on their child's nursery, a new set of figures reveal.
According to a study carried out by Halifax Home Insurance, parents spent an average of 2,628 pounds- a UK total of 1.8 billion pounds - on making their newborn's room perfect. Findings from the financial services company indicated that designer furniture, signed football kits and plasma televisions are items which are increasingly found in nurseries. About one in five children under the age of three were said to have a television in their rooms. Overall, parents were estimated to have spent about 358 million pounds on such electrical equipment for their toddlers.
Vicky Emmott, senior manager of underwriting for Halifax, said: 'The new baby boom is all about the amount parents are spending, to ensure their children start life in a luxury home nursery. Parents are spending almost half the price of a new car on their children's home nurseries. Many expectant parents are unaware how the costs of cribs, Moses baskets, baby monitors and toys soon mount up.'
As a result, Ms Emmott advised those parents who are bringing thousands of pounds worth of new items into their property to check their home insurance policy to make sure that they have adequate cover. She suggested that taking out unlimited contents insurance could help protect consumers' finances in the long-run, as otherwise buying such expensive gifts could see them "unwittingly contravening the terms of their policy".
Research by the company also suggested that parents in the west of England and Wales spend the most on nurseries, as expenditure in this area accounts for some 4,927 pounds. Residents in East Anglia and the south-east were also said to have driven British spending on nurseries with the average parents in these regions spending hundreds of pounds beyond the national average (4,007 pounds). Meanwhile, those from the Midlands were reported to be "pretty thrifty" as the cost of decorating and fitting out a room for their child is less than 790 pounds. Overall, Scottish parents were reported to be the most economical in the country as they shell out some 574 pounds.
Halifax also reported that creating a dream room for their child could severely impact upon their day-to-day finances. About two-thirds (68 per cent) of parents with children under the age of three, or who are expecting a baby, did not set a budget when fitting out a home nursery. Meanwhile, some ten per cent of those who drew up a spending limit were said to have exceeded their expenditure by 1,000 pounds.
Last month, research from Barclays and children's charity NCH indicated that debt management problems have seen 11 per cent of British families are too poor to buy medicines over the counter. The study also indicated that one in ten households have had to go without food because of difficulties handling their finances. Consequently, such consumers were reported to be able to only access credit for unscrupulous providers or are charged a high rate of interest personal loans. A representative from the charity claimed that debt-ridden households often have little understanding of financial products and as a result often do not realise when they are being charged an "extraordinarily high amount" in loan interest rates.
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