The arrival of a newborn child changes the spending structure of the family, the household a lot: certain family expenses decrease, however, new ones crop up. Their expenditure is significantly influenced by the number of children within the household.

The process of expecting a baby creates a very stressful situation for new and seasoned parents alike. Can this stress be relieved by buying valuable and expensive presents for our children, or is it still true that “all” our children need is love?

The pressure from the media strengthens the need in parents expecting a child that they also have to give everything to their child to be born even beyond their means. At the same time, a lot can be heard from teachers, psychologists and educational guidance counsellors how to be perfect parents. In the deep sea of expectations it should be a parent indeed who can make independent and “clever” decisions of their own.

When it comes to gathering information, the Internet is the obvious source nowadays. Google has 750,000 results for the Hungarian word for pregnancy, while “only” half a million for infant, but over six million for child.

There Are Fewer and Fewer of Us

It can be heard a lot that too few children are born nowadays. The number of births has drastically fallen indeed; however, life expectancy is on the increase at the same time, which means that the aging of the society is continuing.

According to KSH (Central Statistical Office) data, 35% of families do not have any children, while the proportion of families with two children is 23%, and 8% of families bring up three or more children.

How Much Does a Child Cost?

However, the children who are born will most probably have a higher standard of living than their parents. The higher standard of living is a direct consequence of the decade-long increase in purchasing power, at the same time parents also spend more on their children. If we consider that the number of children is on the decrease in families, the spending per child is clearly on the increase.

According to a 2007 survey of TÁRKI Social Research Institute, families spend HUF30 million on a child from their birth to the end of their university studies, which means it costs HUF1.26 million per year to bring up a child. However, this amount does not only include direct expenses, but the estimated cost of housework is also included.

The birth of a child fundamentally changes the structure of the household budget: certain expenses decrease, and new ones crop up. Surveys show that a child consumes HUF288-417,000 worth of goods (food and consumer durables) a year. The wide range is explained by the number of children. Only children are the most expensive, while the per capita spending is nearer the lower end of the range in families bringing up three or more children.

Fight with Stains

A new member changes the everyday life, shopping and eating habits of the family as well.

“The ConsumerTracking data of GfK Hungária surveying households’ private consumption well illustrate the above, e.g. in the case of washing powder, households with children under 5 buy nearly twice as much washing powder per person as households without children. However, the winners of the ‘Laundry Prize’ are families with children aged 15-19,” said Otília Dörnyei, GfK Hungária’s Client Service Director.

There Is Only One Mother

The arrival of a child changes parents’ relationship to themselves and to each other. One of the most important changes in the parent role is that “I” loses importance and “we” and the child become the centre of attention.

Several social research sources confirm that the changed role of men has resulted in a lot more intensive participation of today’s fathers in the everyday lives of their children than in the case of even their own fathers’ generation.

The most important value to women with children is family, along with all its positive and negative results. Today’s Hungarian society is conservative in the sense that the classic women-men roles still exist. This means that the main task of man is to provide for his family, while a woman’s main task is to take care of the matters of the household and the family.

However, in addition to the bright side, there are stressful moments, periods as well. The majority feel they have to give up several things for the family and can only spend on really important things. Constant compromises appear among maternal roles, and the feeling of “I never have time for anything” appears more and more often.

The Less Bright Side of Life

One in five children lived in a family where there was no economically active adult in 2009. The proportion of the economically active is a source of other problems as well. Two-thirds of poor children live on small settlements in Hungary, and it is expected to further increase in the future.

There are 620,000 under 18s living under the poverty threshold in Hungary, and at least 2-300,000 children are brought up in deep poverty, although more pessimistic calculations claim this number could be even the doubled depending on what is called deep poverty.
The intensifying split in the society is felt in childhood as well, what is more, it starts there.

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