Child debts mount

Fee levels have risen by an average of 43 per cent since 2000, while earnings have risen by an average of 24 per cent in the same period, Halifax claims.

Halifax’s chief economist, Martin Ellis, commented: “The rapid rise in private school fees over the past five years has made it increasingly difficult for many parents to send their children to private schools.

“As a result, the average worker in a number of occupations, including pharmacists, engineers and journalists, can no longer afford private education for their offspring.”

It is not just private schools that are forcing parents to look for debt help to manage the cost of raising offspring.

Last month, an American Express survey found that even the cost of celebrating a child’s birthday was driving parents into debt.

Through issues such as these, Mr Ellis urged parents to start looking to the future, as with a debt management plan, to ensure that savings are adequate to raise children.