Did you know this about bringing up children?

Did you know that bringing up children causes tension for many couples? In a recent poll 26% of people surveyed said that bringing up children caused concern in their relationship. Below you will find some interesting statistics about families and parenting.

How many families are there in the UK?

• In the United Kingdom there are 7,220,594 families with dependent children (2001) this includes 4,559,060 married couple families, 814,939 cohabiting couples families, 1,664,081 lone mother families and 182,514 lone father families. (1)
• In the United Kingdom there are 337,333 married couple stepfamilies with dependent children and 313,328 cohabiting couple step families with dependent children. (1)
• 27% of households in Great Britain consist of a couple with dependent children. 64% of households with dependent children are married couple households, 13% are cohabiting couple households, 22% are female lone parent households and 2% are male lone parent households. (2)

source: livinglifecounseling.com

How many live births are there each year?

• In 2007 there were 690,013 live births. (3)
• The average age of a woman at the birth of her first child is 27.7. (3)

How many children does the average woman have?

• For the average woman born between 1991 and 2001 it is predicted that she will have 1.8 children (3)
• In 2007 of all families with dependent children 18% were couple families with one child, 36% were couple families with two children, 22% were couple families with three or more children. (2)

How much does it cost to bring up a child?

• A 2007 study from Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society found that the cost of raising a child to 21 is £186,000.

Attitudes to family life

• In a survey for 4 Children, 50% of those surveyed said family life is harder than it was over 20 years ago. (4)
• The same survey also found that 28% of respondents with parents and children felt torn between caring for their parents and caring for their children. (4)

source: dissolve.com

References

1. Smallwood, S. & Wilson, B. eds. (2007). Focus on Families. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen’s Printer for Scotland.
2. National Statistics. (2009). Social Trends 39. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen’s Printer for Scotland.
3. National Statistics. (2008). Birth statistics: Births and patterns of family building in England and Wales, 2007. FM1 no. 36. London: HMSO. Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen’s Printer for Scotland.
4. 4Children. (2009). Family life gets harder for 50% of Britons. Available from http://www.4children.org.uk/information/show/ref/1584.