Family financial security 'vital'
Updated on 13 November 2009
Two-thirds of Britons think people should be financially secure before they consider having children, a survey has shown.
Around 64% of people think couples should hold off starting a family until they can afford it, with the average person claiming households should have an income of at least £25,000 a year before having children.
One in five people said they would seriously consider not having children because of the cost of raising a family.
Just 26% of the 1,049 people questioned said they did not think money should be a consideration when deciding when to start a family, according to National Savings and Investments.
One in 10 people thought couples should postpone having children until they were earning between £40,000 and £70,000 a year, although 13% said it did not matter what you were earning as you would always be able to get by.
The research, which was carried out by the Future Foundation, found the biggest influence on the number of children people decided to have was the standard of living they would be able to provide at 78%, followed by the cost of raising children at 73%.
Just over half said the size of the house they could afford was crucial, while 39% considered the standard of education they could provide for their children.
Barry Clark, account director at the Future Foundation, said: "Baby booms tend to follow economic booms and the reverse is true, too.
"Our data suggests that over the past 60 years, GDP growth and the change in birth rates in the UK have been closely linked, so we expect that coming years will show more than ever that finances and families are related on both a personal and national economic scale."
These news feeds are provided by an independent third party and Channel 4 is not responsible or liable to you for the same.
