Nearly two thirds of parents who return to work after having children found it was not financially viable due to childcare costs, according to a poll by NCT. What do you think?
'Do it all now so you can have it all later' is a frequent sentence that is bandied around women without children; there to remind them when they are about to have them and there to haunt them when they do.
But a survey conducted by Survation for parents’ charity NCT has revealed that 60 per cent of new mothers and fathers returning to work found that it did not pay once all the costs including childcare and travel were added up.
'New parents often struggle with finances after taking maternity or paternity leave and may find that returning to work doesn’t add up financially,' the NCT chief executive Belinda Phipps said to the Evening Standard. 'This seems to be even more of an issue in London.'
The average family in London can expect to pay £140 a week for 25 hours of nursery care for a toddler under two and £136 for a childminder. This compares with £90 in the East Midlands.
What do you think about going back to work once you’ve had a child? Did it help or hinder your finances? Let us know in the comments box.