Gulfnews.com Business Your Money Cost of Raising a Child

8/4/2019 Gulfnews.com Business Your Money Cost of Raising a Child

1/6

April 09 2011 | Last updated 1 minute ago

gulfnews.comBusiness | YourMone

Cost of ra ising a ch ildin the UAEParents grapple with changing demands, soaringexpenses

B Cleofe Maceda, Staff Re orter

Published: 00:00 A ril 9, 2011

Image Credit: FrancoisNel/Gulf News

Left: Latha Jayaraman andGanesh Venkitajhalam with theirchildren Shruti and Swathi;Centre: Cathleen Nicol with Lily

Page 1 of 6gulfnews : Cost of raising a child in the UAE

09/04/2011http://gulfnews.com/business/your-money/cost-of-raising-a-child-in-the-uae-1.789248


2/6

loadingClose [x]

Jonathan.

Children are a joy to have but they constitute the single

greatest expense for many families. In the UAE, the

costs of raising two children run up to Dh60,000-Dh125,000 a year, eating away as much as 25 per cent

of a couple's combined annual income.

Major expenses revolve around education and

amusement or leisure for children which can easily add

up to Dh95,000 a year for some households. The above

figures are based on interviews with different families.

Separate figures released by financial adviser Candour

Consultancy showed that bringing up a child to the age

18 can cost parents in Dubai a staggering Dh1.14

million.

Approximately, the biggest chunk (Dh400,000) will be

spent on education. An almost equally significant

amount (Dh300,000) will go to childcare and

babysitting, and the third biggest expense will be

children's toys, hobbies and leisure (Dh150,000).

The aggregate costs can seem daunting enough, but

divided equally by 18 years, one child will set a family

back to roughly Dh63,000 annually. Couples with two

children can then expect to spend about Dh126,000.

"If you send your kids to a top school in Dubai, buythem designer clothes, eat out regularly, etc, these

costs will be much higher," says Darren Ashley,

managing director at Candour Consultancy.

Comparison




3/6

Candour's estimates, however, did not take into

account the cost of housing and college education. It is

also important to remember that the actual costs in ten

or 18 years' time will be more than they are at present

as a result of inflation, so parents might need to set a

bigger budget.

In the United States, the US Department of Agriculture

calculated that the first 17 years of a child's life is

estimated to cost around Dh816,000, as of 2009 prices.

In the UK, raising a child from birth to 21 is pegged

around Dh1.24 million, according to a report this year

by The Guardian.

Nisreen Hussain from India has three children aged six,

ten and 16. In a year, the family spends aboutDh150,000 for their children. Around Dh60,000 to

Dh75,000 is spent on tuition fees. Extra-curricular

activities, such as karate, soccer, religion and private

tutorial classes cost Dh24,000 a year, while

transportation can run up to Dh18,000.




4/6

Like any other parent, the Hussains shower their kids

with presents and take them on foreign trips every year.

Once a week, they go out to dinner that can set the

family back Dh350 to Dh800.

The Hussains recently spent Dh5,000 on one birthday

bash, and last February the eldest got an iPhone 4 for

her Islamic birthday. "We celebrate birthdays twice a

year, according to the Islamic and Gregorian calendars.

My eldest's Gregorian birthday is up soon and I don't

know yet what she's going to make me spend," she

says.

"The cost of raising children has increased. It actually

increased tremendously," Hussain points out. For

Cathleen Nicol from Scotland, UK, her two girls aged

five and two rack up about Dh125,000 in a year. The

biggest portion (Dh70,000) goes to school fees.

Price spiral

The girls are taking ballet, as well as arts and crafts

classes, so a year's spending on out-of-school activities

add up to Dh12,000. About the same amount is spent

on clothing each year, Dh6,000 on birthday parties and

Dh14,400 on leisure and entertainment. The girls also

get big toys for birthdays and Christmas that cost

around Dh1,000 per child, plus monthly small gifts that

can cost Dh4,800 in a year.

"Life expenses in general are increasing each year with

rises in food shopping and fuel costs, and, as the

children get older, school fees, uniforms, activity clubs,

etc. generally increase," Nicol says.




5/6

Pascal Eppink, a Dutch expatriate and father of two

boys, aged five and six, says their annual outgoings are

rising as well. "It is just gradually increasing each year

as they get bit by bit more independent and undertake

more activities."

So far, annual spending is approximately Dh96,000.

School fees reach Dh35,000 per year, but about 80 per

cent of the amount is covered by Eppink's company.

The boys also take football lessons which cost Dh45

per lesson per child, and ski classes at Dh140 per

person.

Clothing costs amount to Dh7,000 to Dh10,000 a year.

"It's not too bad, but it adds up though. They are not at

the age yet of being brand conscious, so they have little

demands so far. They just enjoy occasionally some

cartoon characters clothing which usually do not cost

much," Eppink says.

Airfares for the two boys, however, can cost quitedearly, with the family travelling three times a year.

Although they don't have a dedicated nanny, someone

comes four times a week to help, all for about Dh1,500

a month. Latha Ganes from India says rising school

fees are one of their biggest expenses. Tuition fees for

her twin daughters, aged eight, have just increased

from Dh14,520 last year to Dh16,200 this year.

"Expenses are definitely increasing and this is the right

time to (tackle the issue) because the school has

increased the fees recently," Ganes points out.

Since the twins take Arabic and Kumon lessons, the

family spends an additional Dh1,800 per month.




6/6

Another potential budget buster is the almost weekly

trip to the amusement centres and malls. A day out can

easily reach Dh250 to Dh300, or Dh14,000 a year.

Budget buster

Lynessa Serrao from India has recently given birth to

twins, so she has not incurred any major expense so

far, except for the baby furniture, clothes and

accessories that she earlier purchased for about

Dh2,500.

"These were one-time purchases. Newborns don't need

much, but I'm sure that as and when they grow up, the

cost will definitely increase," Serrao says.

The arrival of the twins, however, has caused Serrao's

housing budget to increase from Dh40,000 to Dh50,000

a year. "We used to stay in one bedroom, but we

thought it's too small now that we have babies. Luckily,

the rents are not that high," she says.


Gulfnews.com Business Your Money Cost of Raising a Child

Documents

Transcript of Gulfnews.com Business Your Money Cost of Raising a Child