- Parents spend £28,767 in total on the teenage years (excluding household costs such as groceries and utility bills)
- ‘Sweet sixteen’ is most expensive teenage year at £4,800 annually
- Parents contribute £225 a year towards teens’ tech costs: but are more worried about tech usage than drink, drugs or exam pressure
- A third (33%) of parents sacrifice saving for the future to meet teens’ needs
- One in three (31%) parents say their teenager overestimates what they earn
- Only half (50%) of parents have taught their teens the basic principles of budgeting and how bank or savings accounts work.
Britain’s parents are spending more on their children to support them through all of the teenage years (13-19 years) than the average UK worker earns in a year (£26,1041), Aviva’s Cost of Youth report shows.
From 13 years to age 19, parents spend a total of £28,767 on their teens (excluding household costs such as food and utility bills2) with the most expensive year being age 16, costing £4,800.The typical annual spend on a teenager is £4,110 a year - around 16% of the average UK salary.
Refusing to spend on teenagers has led to conflict among families, with almost one in four (24%) parents having fallen out with a teenage child for saying ‘no’ and 17% saying they have experienced some form of emotional blackmail or guilt trip.
The top costs during the teenage years are: birthdays and special occasions (£471 annually), holidays and gap year travel (£393), food and drink outside of household groceries, including school meals (£387), essential clothing and shoes (£372) and regular pocket money (£274).
Table 1: The top five annual costs of raising a teenager
|
| Age 13-19 | Age 13-15 | Age 16-19 |
| Birthdays and special occasions | £471 | £464 | £477 |
| Holidays, gap years and other recreational travel | £393 | £340 | £440 |
| School meals and other food/drink outside of household groceries | £387 | £441 | £334 |
| Essential clothing, shoes and accessories | £372 | £428 | £317 |
| Regular pocket money/ allowance | £274 | £276 | £272 |
UK families spend an average of £109 annually per teen on extra education and tutoring costs, excluding private education fees.
With nearly half of young people aged 17-30 going to university3, contributing towards the cost of higher education becomes a significant expense for parents of older teens. Only 13% of parents with teenagers at university do not give them any extra money over and above the grants or loans they receive.
Parents with teens at university (primarily aged 18-23) supplement their children’s grants and loans to support their living costs, with parents spending the most at age 19 (£1,074 annually).
The technology trap
More than half (53%) of parents spend on technology for their teenagers, despite having reservations about possible online threats. The most common items among those who do spend on this are mobile phone contracts (75%), mobile phone handsets (56%) and laptops (46%).
Parents contribute an average £225 per year towards their teenagers’ tech costs. But despite helping fund their teen’s digital habits, parents are more likely to feel the time their children spend on digital technology is unhealthy (34%) rather than healthy (22%). Although half (51%) feel it benefits their children socially and even more (61%) feel it benefits their education and learning, over half (54%) also feel it exposes them to negative influences or threats while 36% say it harms family relationships.
Table 2: Parents’ opinions on the time their teenagers spend using digital technology
| % who agree with the following statements | 13-19s | 13-15s | 16-19s |
| It benefits their education/learning | 61% | 63% | 59% |
| It exposes them to negative influences/risks | 54% | 56% | 52% |
| It benefits them socially | 51% | 55% | 48% |
| It is something I have control over | 40% | 46% | 32% |
| It harms our family relationships | 36% | 39% | 34% |
| It is healthy | 22% | 26% | 20% |
Tellingly, parents are more worried about the amount of time their teenager spends on technology (39%) than about the dangers of drink and drugs (37%) or exams, education and homework pressure (33%).
Keeping up with teenage expectations
A third (34%) of parents say they still feel they spend more than they should on their teens and nearly half (49%) agree they feel pressured into doing so. To meet the demands of their teens, over a third of parents sacrifice going out or socialising (37%) or saving money for their own future (33%), including putting money into savings and pensions.
Parents are also willing to cut spending money on their own appearance to fund their teens. While they spend £630 annually on clothing and footwear and £196 on toiletries and haircuts for their teenagers, 28% will sacrifice spending on clothing for themselves, while 19% say they will go without a haircut.
Half (50%) of parents say they have to draw on other funds aside from their regular income to fund their teens’ expenses: of those who turn to other sources, 39% use credit cards, 34% rely on financial help from their children’s grandparents and 33% work overtime.
Financial knowledge falls short
Only 27% of parents think their children know exactly what they earn, leaving many with an inflated view: almost one in three (31%) say their children think they earn more than they actually do, while just 6% think their children underestimate this.
70% of parents consider themselves to be competent with their finances, but only 36% feel their teenagers are good at managing money.
One of parents’ top concerns about their finances in relation to their teens is that there is little financial education to support them to take responsible decisions (16%). Despite this, only half (50%) have taught their teenagers the basic principles of budgeting and how bank or savings accounts work.
Other worries among parents of teens include:
- The level of financial support they need to provide will go on indefinitely (16%)
- Teenagers have expectations that they can have whatever they want (16%).
After the teen years
Parents cannot necessarily depend on spending less as their children leave their teenage years behind. Aviva’s data shows a sudden spike in spending at age 22 to £4,185 annually, possibly as many young people graduate and are no longer supported with loans and grants. At this age, spending almost triples on motoring expenses (rising from £97 a year at 21 to £279 at 22) and soars on holidays and other travel (up from £122 a year at 21 to £666 at 22).
Parents also put more towards their older children’s everyday living costs, spending more than twice as much on clothing (up from £170 a year to £395). Spending nearly doubles on entertainment (such as parties and nights out) (from £79 a year at 21 to £143 at 22).
Louise Colley, Customer Propositions Director, Aviva:
“The teenage years can be especially challenging for parents, who have to juggle supporting their children through their growing independence as well as trying to keep on top of their own finances. Financial pressures have changed significantly since parents themselves were teens, with mounting digital costs and the associated concerns around technology usage a prime example."
“Many parents feel pressured to overspend, and will sacrifice spending on themselves as result. This may not be such a problem when giving up a night out or a new outfit, but when saving for the future takes a hit parents are right to put their foot down.
“Few parents think their children have an accurate view of how much they earn, and there is an imbalance between the proportion of parents who believe they have good money management skills and those who actually pass on these lessons to their teenagers. Starting conversations about family finances in the younger years is vital to supporting their financial education and putting them in good place to manage their own money effectively in the future.”
– Ends –
For more information, please visit: http://www.aviva.co.uk/life/family-life/article/why-are-teens-so-expensive/
If you are a journalist and would like further information, please contact:
Instinctif Partners: Rachel Morrod (0207 427 1431 / 07815 541 791) or Andy Lane (0207 427 1422 / 07815 540 932) or twc.aviva@instinctif.com
Aviva Press Office: Olly Douglas on 01904 723532 or olly.douglas@aviva.com
Aviva’s spokespeople, Louise Colley and Alistair McQueen, are available for comment/interview.
Methodology
1 ONS Labour Market statistics, July 2016, https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/timeseries/kab9/lms
2 Figure does not include private education fees as well as household costs (e.g. groceries, utilities etc.)
3 Department for Business Innovation & Skills: Participation rates in higher education 2013/14 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/458034/HEIPR_PUBLICATION_2013-14.pdf
2,000 parents of children aged 13-25 took part in an online survey carried out by ICM Unlimited in July 2016. All findings are based on parents of teenagers aged 13-19 unless specified otherwise, with a total of 1,644 parents of children aged 13-19 participating in the survey.
Notes to editors:
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