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News release
Friday 30 March 2007
THE COST OF GUILT FOR BRITAIN'S WORKING PARENTS
Many of Britain's working parents1 are forking out over a thousand pounds a year on treats for their kids to compensate for a lack of quality time.
New research from Skipton Building Society reveals that a quarter (24%) of these working mums and dads with primary aged kids shell out at least £1,200 a year on their offspring to make up for lost family hours - equal to nearly 5% of the average annual income in the UK2.
With the average Briton now working 42.4 hours per week3, the findings highlight that 23% of the working parents polled spend as little as 10 hours per working week with their child - with the figure rising to just over a third (35%) amongst dads.
As a result, three fifths (60%) say that they don't feel they spend enough one-to-one hours with their youngster, with nearly a third (32%) of parents admitting they feel guilty about the situation.
Working dads are particularly affected by guilt - one in five (21%) fathers think it is only fair to give their offspring treats to compensate, compared to 17% of women. Nearly half (43%) of dads also said they often feel as if they are missing out on their child's life because of their job with 29% of men even claiming that, if they could afford it, they would opt to be a stay-at-home parent.
Of those who fear they are missing out on time with their child, many do not arrive home from work until late (51%), or when they do get home they have other jobs to do during the evening (20%). Impacting on their parent-child time, 14% say they end up putting their child to bed as soon as they get home with 8% saying their offspring has already hit the sack by the time they walk through the door.
The pay off for kids sees 51% of parents making up lost time by spending more on family outings, whilst two fifths (40%) splash out on little gifts for their child, and a quarter (26%) treat the family to eating out, and 8% admit they dig deep and buy expensive presents.
This spending is offset by some sign of financial prudence however - 86% have a savings account for their young child, although, nearly half (45%) have banked only £400.
Jennifer Holloway, head of media relations at Skipton Building Society, added, "For any parent, doing the best for their child often comes at a cost - either in time or money. For those who can't afford the former, the latter can often seem like the best way to pay penance for spending so much time at work.
"However, mothers and fathers should consider whether spending cash on gifts and treats - sometimes thousands of pounds - is the best course of action. Even if it does alleviate the guilt, saving this money up over the longer-term and using it for something that will really make a difference to a child, such as help with university fees, could prove a much better way of showing parental love."
ENDS
For further information, please contact:
Lisa Pearson, Band & Brown Communications, 020 7419 6934 or lisa.pearson@bbpr.com
Sarah Eakin, Band & Brown Communications, 020 7419 7319 or sarah.eakin@bbpr.com
Editor's notes
The research was undertaken online by YouGov between 9 - 16 March 2007, amongst a sample group of 1,140 working adults (full-time or part-time), with a dependent child or children under the age of 10 years old. Results are unweighted. YouGov is a member of the British Polling Council.
Skipton is the UK 's seventh largest building society, with a national presence represented by its 84 branches, covering the country from Aberdeen to Plymouth . An innovator in the field of mortgage and investment products, the Society stands apart from its counterparts as the parent to 17 subsidiary companies, many of which operate in the financial market.
- 18% of working parents admit to spending extra money on their child to make up for not spending enough quality time with them.
- April 2006, Labour statistic, Office of National Statistics,
- Trades Union Congress research, February 2006
YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE.