School's out for summer - but will it break the bank?

Summer holiday activities could cost UK parents over ?370 million. Only one in twenty (5%) save specifically for child related expenses

With school children soon leaving their classrooms behind for the summer holidays, parents will need to be well prepared for the costs involved.

Research from Alliance and Leicester Savings reveals that keeping a child entertained over the summer break could cost parents in the UK over ?370 million.

Parents will be well aware of the cost of entertaining their children during term time, funding activities from after school clubs and music lessons to sports teams and days out at the weekend.

But the traditional six week summer break puts even more pressure on parents' purse strings, especially when only one in twenty (5%) are saving up specifically for child related expenses.

Hetal Parmar, Manager for Savings at Alliance and Leicester commented: "Naturally parents want children to enjoy their holidays after a hard year of school work but they may well start to tighten the purse-strings after a few weeks of outings and activities, especially when the cost of living, like petrol and utility bills, is going up.

It's worrying to see so few people saving specifically for entertaining children over the summer, as being unprepared could mean funds drying up before the summer's out." Faced with a grey British summer, parents will be under pressure to find rainy day activities and could be forking out for the latest video game console and games and, even for those rare sunny days, entertaining kids in the back garden could see parents spending hundreds of pounds on treats like a trampoline or inflatable swimming pool.

Yet come rain or shine this summer UK parents of the average school child can expect to fork out a collective ?370 million on other entertainment with activities such as the cinema, bowling, a trip to a theme park and a new DVD all mounting up.

Add to this the soaring price of petrol needed for transporting kids to and from activities and costs will easily increase further.

For parents unable to take extra time off over the summer, or without a helpful grandparent to look after the kids, a week or two at summer camp or employing a nanny could see them forking out even more.

Hetal Parmar continues: "All of us are feeling the pinch on our finances and those with children will certainly benefit from putting money aside in advance, especially if they have more than one child.

Even saving little and often can easily build up a nice sum, helping to eliminate stress and absorb extra costs.

Let's face it, that savings pot will help keep a smile on your little angel's face during the summer, come rain or shine.".

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