Surge in parents racking up debt to fund childcare: ‘Procreation is financial suicide’

Increasing numbers of parents are racking up debt to fund childcare costs, according to damning new research.

A study by Pregnant Then Screwed and Women In Data found 46 per cent of parents in England with a child under the age of five say they accumulated debt or were forced to dip into their savings to pay for childcare – a 30 per cent surge from last year.

Researchers also discovered that around one in five parents with a child under five was pushed into taking money out of their savings and pension to foot their childcare costs.

And around one in four say they were forced to resort to using credit cards, taking out a loan or borrowing money from relatives or friends.

The situation is far more stark for single parents with a child under five, according to the survey, with two-thirds racking up debt to fund childcare.

Joeli Brearley, chief executive and founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, said: “We have not only got a cost of living crisis, we have got a cost of working crisis that disproportionately impacts mothers.’’

Her comments come after chancellor Jeremy Hunt revealed a major extension to free childcare for parents in the spring of last year to win back voters, with working parents who have children under five told they can claim 30 hours of free childcare for 38 weeks per year from September 2025.

However, The Independent recently revealed that thousands of nurseries have shut their doors amid staffing shortages, sparking fears the government’s promise to expand free childcare was “doomed to failure”.

The implementation of the government’s new free childcare provision has been tricky, with many parents still waiting to find out if they can get a funded spot, Ms Brearley warned.

She said many others are “complaining that cost savings are minimal due to significant price increases for childcare costs outside of the funded hours”, adding: “It is clear that after years of disappointment, parents are struggling to believe the promise that things will get better.’’

Researchers polled 35,800 parents, using a nationally representative sample of 5,870 parents for the new report.

“Being a parent is tough enough, but when having more children means sacrificing your income, procreation feels like financial suicide,” Ms Brearley said. “If we aren’t careful, becoming a parent will be a luxury item, and the economy can’t afford to pay that price.”

The research found around half of parents with a child under the age of five in England report being forced to fork out more than a quarter of their household income on childcare – a surge of 16 per cent since last year.

Meanwhile, a third of parents warned that their childcare provider has a waiting list longer than nine months, while a meagre 13 per cent of parents say there are no problems with finding childcare spots close to them.

The Independent recently revealed warnings from experts that Mr Hunt’s Budget childcare pledge was fast unravelling amid “chaos” over funding arrangements. Some warned that the sector has not been given enough cash or support to deliver the promise by April.

The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) found the UK had one of the most expensive childcare systems in the world.

A spokesperson for the Department for Education said: “Our average funding rates for new entitlements are expected to be substantially higher than the hourly fees paid by parents last year, and we are already seeing providers looking to expand their placements across the country.

“We published funding rates in November, and are urging local authorities to confirm their rates by the end of the month.”