It’s
hard to believe that August is upon us and another school year has come to a
close. I don’t know about you but I feel like this year is flying by and before
we know it, Christmas will be just around the corner. July through to September
are some of the busiest and most hectic months of the year, mainly due to the
little ones being off enjoying their summer holidays.
As a parent it’s nice to
enjoy some well-deserved time off with the children but we all know school
holidays can come at a cost.
More
often than not the littles ones enjoy occupying themselves, whether it’s
playing with their toys, games or watching films, the summer holidays
especially are a long period of time out of their usual routine and it’s
inevitable the boredom is going to kick in at some point. Family days out
during the school holidays can be as expensive or as cheap as you’d like.
Whether it’s a picnic in the park or a trip to the local zoo, days out can
range in price and a lot of UK attractions offer discounts for families, mainly
consisting of 2 adults and 2 children.
Sometimes
family days out can carry a financial burden for parents if money isn’t easy to
come by and I was surprised to find out that single parent families are at a
significant disadvantage. You’d automatically presume that a single parent
taking 2 children on a day out would be cheaper because there are less people,
but in fact, this isn’t the case. Being a single parent can be hard enough
physically, emotionally and financially to begin with, so it’s upsetting to
think the book doesn’t stop there and single parents are in a way being
punished for wanting to spend time with their children and enjoy a family day
out.
Research
carried out by PayPlan looks at the true cost of being a single parent and how some of the UK’s top attractions offer better
discounts to a family of 2 adults and 2 children, over a single parent family
with the same amount of children. I can’t imagine how difficult it is being a
single parent and I can only sympathise with parents who face financial
difficulties like the ones I’ve outlined below.
The cost of being a single parent
One
of the best family days out is a trip to the cinema and it’s sure to please the
little ones. Although a number of cinemas have reduced their ticket prices, if
you don’t take your own drinks and snacks it can easily mount up in cost.
Taking Odeon as an example, the cost per paying head to view a film in one of
their cinemas with 2 adults and 2 children will set you back around £9.75 each.
You’d presume that the same day out minus 1 adult would be cheaper, but in fact
it isn’t. For a single parent with 2 children you’d be looking at paying £10.67
per head, which isn’t a huge difference but it can soon add up.
It’s
not just places like the cinema which are more expensive for single parent
families; holidays and travel also have an impact. If you’re planning a train
journey with Virgin Trains then you’re looking at a cost of around £24.75 per
head, if you’re traveling as a family of 2 adults and 2 children. There’s a
significant difference when it comes to single parent families though, as the
cost per head for a family of 3 will amount to around £33, totalling a
difference of around £8.25.
The
figures that shocked me the most was the difference in price when it comes to a
Mediterranean family cruise. A holiday is a way of escaping the stresses of
life back at home and enjoying time with your loved ones, but there’s a
noticeable difference in cost when it comes to single parent families.
For a
family of 4 the price per head would come in at around £1,222,25, whereas a
single parent would be paying around £1,569 per head. At first glance this
doesn’t appear to be a huge difference when in fact; it’s around £346 in cost which
is pretty staggering.
This
is a topic which hasn’t really crossed my mind before or been relevant to me
but after looking at the research carried out by PayPlan, it’s certainly opened
my eyes to the matter. Single parents have enough to deal with and knowing
you’re at a disadvantage when it comes to family days out mustn’t be easy to
understand.
I’d like to know your thoughts on this matter in the comments below
and it would be great to share your thoughts on social, using
#CostOfSingleParentLiving.
*This is a collaborative post
If you enjoy my blog, please consider following me on Bloglovin'
