Babies are not that expensive..

JCN12

Stumbled across the below article this morning behind the pay wall. Tag line of the photo states minimum cost of supporting a baby is €90 per week in Ireland. Expensive tastes perhaps?

Sad that they are giving up on their dream of more kids though.

In my opinion, unless you are fairly reckless with your spending, kids are pretty much cost neutral with the generous children's allowance in this country, unless you are paying someone else to look after them.

https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/we-can-just-about-afford-the-baby-we-have-so-that-will-be-it-the-cost-of-having-a-child-in-ireland/a1630076028.html

StevenToast

Do you have children?

Montage of Feck

Maybe we could sell them to rich catholic yanks.

waterwelly

€90 sounds low.

Having said that the second child is less costly than the first.

Furze99

Sure babies are not particularly costly to support, particularly if sensible with hand me downs and breastfed.

They tend to grow though and it's when they get older, that they become expensive. A spike with any early childcare costs, less for a period in primary school and then soars again in teenage and college years.

Then they need to live at home as nowhere can be rented at reasonable cost and when they try to buy, assistance with mortgage.

But babies are cheap comparatively.

Just bought my lad a new pair of shoes having bought him a pair 6 weeks ago that he's grown out of.

There's something to be said for old days when kids went to school with no shoes.

Mrs OBumble

Provided you exclusively breast feed, use cloth nappies (line-dried), buy 2nd hand everything (buggies, clothes,toys), don't use a car (so no car seat) - and the kid never gets sick enough to need medicine (GP is free, the pharmacy isn't). then, yeah the first six months ain't too bad.

(Seriously do you know anyone who does ALL that????)

But then maternity benefit ends and ya gotta feed them solids and pay for childcare ... costs really take off.

corner of hells

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121266562#Comment_121266562

And don’t let them know about Christmas or birthday parties when they’re older ?

howiya

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121266562#Comment_121266562

That's if you can find childcare to take a baby before they are one. Friends of mine couldn't and had to take unpaid leave.

timetogo1

I know you mentioned "unless you are paying somebody else to look after them". That's the huge expense and not a choice for most parents. As soon as maternity leave is over you have no choice if you work.

Then going into school reduces that but still, if both parents have a 9 to 5 and extended family is not available then you have no choice but to pay for some kind of child care (€400 a month for my 7 year old during school days).

Then if you have a second child just multiply by 2.

The recent childcare supports in the recent budgets are a huge help. Still up to a grand a month depending on your child's age.

Plus when the schools are closed you need childcare. We overlap our holidays obviously but we don't get as much time off as they do.

MrMusician18

€90 on average for your first child seems low enough when you average out the cost of all the stuff you need to have for babies these days. €90 would cover two, maybe 3 days in crèche.

At a minimum, a baby needs a modern cot, a car seat (and it's advised to not buy second hand), food and clothes. For practical reasons they also need a stroller. Most expensive of all is the minding they require.

Other nice to haves are a travel system and travel cot.

It all adds up.

SuperBowserWorld

Just pray they don't get or have a serious long term mental and/or physical illness. Babies are not just for Christmas.

Annasopra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058319053/babies-are-not-that-expensive

Prams, food, nappies, clothes, toys, cots, bottles, baby monitor, blankets

What planet are you living on?

https://www.rte.ie/lifestyle/living/2020/0721/1154581-babys-first-year-typically-costs-parents-10-000-survey-finds/

Tork

At least the little blighters will get used to the meaning of the word No early in life. If money's that tight you'll be saying it a lot.

Ezeoul

Kids are expensive, and first babies in particular. However in saying that, this will most likely be an unpopular opinion, but I think the amount of assistance parents get nowadays towards the cost of raising children is very generous.

Child benefit, childcare subsidy, and free GP also, all add up.

In my day there was child benefit and that was it. There was no free preschool, no childcare subsidy, definitely no free GPs, and maternity leave was 12 weeks. Childcare wasn't cheap then either, (when was childcare ever cheap?)

It is better now, as it should be. But my god, when is it ever enough? It's as if some parents want to have kids, but have the State foot ALL the costs of raising them.

FWIW, when it comes to childcare subsidies, I think what resources there are should be targeted at parents in full time education, training or employment only. If there is a parent at home full time, there should be no need for State subsidised creche places for those children.

Also FWIW, I was glad to see parents of older children finally acknowledged somewhat in the budget, especially with CB extended to 18 year olds still in FTE. Everything always seems so focused on younger children, but wait until you're feeding and clothing a teenager.

That's my 2c worth.

JCN12

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121266445#Comment_121266445

Yes, I have children.

JCN12

I take the point of childcare, obviously it's expensive. But that's a lifestyle choice, stemming from years worth of financial decisions and planning prior to having kids. i.e. how much you save/ the house you buy and where you buy it and financial commitments thereafter.

However, expensive prams, cots and car seats are not necessary. Plenty of budget/ used options out there which are one off costs, which then can be cascaded down the younger ones.

As for running costs, store brand diapers and wipes etc. tend to be very cheap. Baby formula, again max 2 cans a week and that cost will disappear after a year.

As for clothes, with a bit of planning there are plenty of online sales/ thrift options and again can be cascaded down.

It's just sad that she will possibly never have more children, when that's what she wants. If you are willing to make the decisions and sacrifices, it is more than doable.

Akrasia

This is the most delusional thread of all time

Loveinapril

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121268776#Comment_121268776

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121268594#Comment_121268594

I imagine you are a man. Maternity leave alone can cost so much money. I HAD to take 6 months maternity leave after having my children, despite my job not paying it. So I had a €240 per week state benefit per week for 26 weeks (then €245 per week on my subsequent maternity leave) for 26 weeks, which meant that my two entire pregnancies required a LOT of saving so I could afford to live while I was off.

You have to buy new mattresses and car seats per child for safety purposes.

Kids don't magically give up formula at 12 months either, some fussy feckers refuse cows milk or water so it isn't as simple as moving onto those at 12 months, unless breastfeeding. If a woman plans on returning to work, the child will need to stay hydrated so this will require a massive amount of experiment with various drinking receptacles and fluids. Lots of bottles and cups will be tested during this time.

I am a massive fan of Zero Waste/ Freecycle Facebook pages and second hand baby things (I also used cloth nappies) but there are some things that you cannot get second hand,like vests (they end up stained by poop or during the food weaning process).

I am budget conscious and could not believe how much I spent in the first few months of my kids' lives in the chemist- breast pads (I often used reusable but sometimes they were not sufficient), thermometres, teething gel, Calpol, moisturisers, skin creams, bath washes (all child specific so require some testing out!), nappy rash cream (I also made my own with breast milk), etc. I think I "did" my first year of motherhood as cheaply as possible but it still cost me loads!

Annasopra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121268776#Comment_121268776

Clearly you don't live in Ireland though. We have nappies and a cost of living crisis. Noone has suggested getting everything top of the range.

InAtFullBack

Worth every penny of it, yes they are expensive - especially the older they get, but it is manageable. One earner household here so have no outgoings for creches etc... if the OH was to work, most of their wages would probably be gone on childcare costs, taxes, commute costs, etc... so not worth it. Kids are into a fair few activities and have to say the GAA is brilliant value for them to partake in. Irish Dancing is a money pit though.

SEPT 23 1989

I can’t remember the last time I saw a young one wheeling a pram

Day Lewin

I got all mine for free... Enjoyed it, too!

Cot from my sister, pram from a friend. (Their babies a bit older, had outgrown them) Breastfeeding, also free.

Luckily I had a washing machine so I washed the nappies! Clothes were constantly handed down to me.

Medical expenses was hard but nowadays most of that is free, too.

It can be done very cheap. I'm not into consumerism, I care enough that my children grow up to a livable planet. They're all healthy!

esker72

There's a lot of new expense with a baby but there's also lots of things that you just stop spending money on like nights out, meals in restaurants and foreign holidays. You can just end up transferring spend from parents to child, a shift in priorities.

Annasopra

Jaysus - so much judgement in this thread. Judging that costs of children are cheap. Judging parents for buying items for children. Judging childless people who eat out and go on holiday.

The one good thing about kids is they grow up and become useful

Had my 2 in the garden yesterday. One picking peas ( albeit most left behind) and the other helping me put a roof on a water storage system for the tunnel. It was a good idea getting him to do woodwork this year in school.

SodiumCooled

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121268961#Comment_121268961

You are advised to buy a new mattress though from what I can see many don’t. I have never seen advice that a new car seat is needed or seen anyone buy one for a 2nd child etc (unless needed due to closeness in age) - no reason at all for that. You are advised not to buy a second hand car seat as you don’t know if it’s been in an accident and compromised but you know the history of your own one. I wouldn’t do it but I see plenty buying second hand car seats also and loads are for sale online.

As for the cost of kids, I think some aspects can be exaggerated e.g. the old jibe about buying nappies etc which are actually cheap (even pampers or other branded ones). The big cost is childcare and college really also lost earnings if the mother doesn’t get paid maternity leave.

I don’t agree with the comment from the op about “choices” leading to needing childcare. Many/most women don’t want to give up on their career even aside from the fact a second wage is needed in most homes nowadays.

JCN12

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121270439#Comment_121270439

I don’t agree with the comment from the op about “choices” leading to needing childcare. Many/most women don’t want to give up on their career even aside from the fact a second wage is needed in most homes nowadays.

'Don't want' is a choice.

JCN12

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121270047#Comment_121270047

It's an open discussion. Go put on a helmet.

SodiumCooled

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121270844#Comment_121270844

For some it may be a choice, for most it’s not as they simply cannot live on one income. Also many women don’t want to be stuck in the house either.

But my point was more that you say babies aren’t expensive - unless you need childcare as if it’s only occasionally that people need it when in fact the vast majority need childcare so you can’t just dismiss it as a cost for the vast majority of people.

circadian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121270047#Comment_121270047

Boards is transforming into facebook.

KilOit

Kids are cheap, thanks to hand-me-downs and charity/2nd hand shops, we got a ton of stuff that way.

the massive cost that is starting to rear its ugly head after a year is the child minding, 60-75 euro per day is absolutely bonkers, and they generally have 1-2 more kids they are caring for. It equals min wage for 1 child, with 2 other thrown in along with no cost to mind their own and you have a fantastic income, our mortgage is less than what we will pay for minding 1 child.

Anyway, I can't complain too much, we are in a position where we can job share eventually but how a couple renting or on the lower income side of things can manage is beyond me

Multipass

Wait till they get to college, you’ll be broken by that 😞

Beasty

90 quid? Where can you get them for that much?

Paid 5 grand for one of mine...

freshpopcorn

I heard about a lady with loads of kids who was getting on a bus and their wasn't enough room for the buggy. So, she left it at the bus stop and told everybody she'd get a new one from social welfare for free.

Annasopra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121270853#Comment_121270853

I'm open to discuss. 👍

billyhead

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121266666#Comment_121266666

The State support usually comes in here.

Leg End Reject

To anyone saying a mother chooses to keep working - many families will need the second income and take the hit until the child starts school, there's also the hit to your pension if you just down tools, it can also be harder to step back into work, especially in a competitive industry where you've lost years of experience.

lalababa

It's like how long is a piece of string? Some parents are in a situation where they have a high income and/or both working so they might have high childcare costs and/or get the expensive stuff for children. Others may be full time parents and get hand me downs or charity shop/donedeal stuff. Like everything it can be done on a budget. Some people might in year one spend 30,000 on a baby , some might spend 5000 or less, with no deprivational effect on the child. BTW how much is child allowance now?

I think also there is some kind of working family minimal income allowance that adds some extra allowance per child. I looked it up a few years ago..like say the income was 500 a week for a 2 child family then the SW would top up to 650 a week etc.

nachouser

You'd spend more than that on a dog.

gameoverdude

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121271000#Comment_121271000

New you'd go for the gucci baby!

martco

OP I reckon your €90 pw is derived from is one of those standard issue numbers seemingly posited by economic theorists that sets out the average cost to raise a child to the age of 21 @ €100k

100,000 /21 = 4,762 pa

4,762 /52 = €91.57 per week

I've raised 3 myself

I have no idea ultimately how much it did cost in the end because I didn't keep a ledger for it like a weirdo but I'd expect it's in the ballpark alright and possibly a bit shy actually

I can tell you something. If I had a time machine I wouldn't change anything because I reckon I've just about managed to do it. BUT if I was starting off again with today's economic and social setup I'm fairly sure I wouldn't want to have any. No way would I want to bring a child into the world planned, given the cost of living and its continued divergence from wages precarious employment coupled with a virtually zero chance of ever buying and owning a gaff. all a bit of whimsy sure but demographics will have dire consequences for likes of services, pensions etc. down the line. kaboom.