'Financial guilt made me ask my children's dad to take them full time'

'Financial guilt made me ask my children's dad to take them full time' With the run up to the summer holidays on the way, many parents will start to feel a sense of guilt for the financial strain it can bring - and pressures to afford activities for their children is weighing heavy The eye-watering cost of raising children is leaving British families perilously exposed to sudden economic shocks. While parents have long accepted that having children is expensive, just covering the day-to-day costs means they have no spare money to save. For 34-year-old Amba Hicks, the soaring costs led to a breaking point that shattered her confidence as a mother. Trapped in a cycle of rising bills, the single mum from Northamptonshire found herself facing a choice that breaks her heart to remember. "The pressure of constantly worrying about money and whether you're doing enough for your children can really affect you," Amba told the Mirror. "There was a point where I felt so guilty about not being able to give the girls the life I thought they deserved that I even asked their dad whether he wanted to have them instead. Looking back, that was how overwhelmed I felt." Amba's experience is far from an isolated incident. As a single mother of two girls, aged eight and nine, training to be a teacher, Amba says keeping afloat during the school term is hard enough, but it's even worse during the school holidays. New research from subscription lender Creditspring says British parents face a £10.1billion bill annually to cover food, entertainment and higher household when schools close over the summer. A staggering 68pc of parents now rank the summer holidays as their most expensive time of the year, completely eclipsing Christmas. For Amba, the strain brings added pressure. "The food bill goes up sharply during the holidays because they're home all day and eating more," she said. "My eldest is on the ADHD pathway and will only eat certain foods and brands, so I can't always switch to cheaper alternatives even when money is tight. We've always bought value food where we can, but there comes a point where there's nothing left to cut back on. "Everything costs more now than it used to. A few years ago I could give the girls £2 for snacks on a movie night. Now it costs closer to £6. I've even given up smoking to save money and I rarely socialise anymore because I can't justify spending money on myself when there are things the girls need. "I love my children more than anything, but the school holidays can make you feel like you're constantly falling short when you're actually doing everything you can." After discovering her daughter had lied to school friends about going on holiday, Amba felt totally defeated. "It can be heartbreaking," she said. "I want to give my girls the same experiences as other children, but often all I can afford is to take them to the park or somewhere local. "Social media makes it harder because children see other families going on holidays and doing activities, and they compare themselves. I once caught my daughter lying about nice places where she'd been on holiday because she felt embarrassed, and that really upset me as a parent." Tamsin Powell, consumer finance expert at Creditspring, said: "With one in five parents expecting to dip into savings and a third relying on credit, borrowing, delayed payments or family support, it is clear that school holidays are becoming a serious household budgeting challenge. "Parents are not just paying for treats - they are trying to cover the everyday cost of having children at home for longer. The financial math of parenthood is also a struggle for dual-income households. In Denbighshire, Wales, 34-year-old NHS admin worker Kelly Duff and her partner Jack, a factory worker, find themselves trapped in a complex juggle just to keep their jobs. The couple pay £97 a week - nearly £400 a month - to cover childcare for her sons Oscar, eight, and Jacob, two. "Jacob will go once a week from 8am to 5pm and Oscar goes to the same daycare after he's finished school, so he will be there from around 3pm until 5pm. It costs us £77 for Oscar and £20 for Jacob," Kelly told the Daily Mirror. The high costs have prompted Kelly to make a difficult professional sacrifice. After comparing her take-home pay to the childcare costs, she decided to drop down one day a week. "We found it was more beneficial for me to drop a day of work," Kelly said. "Otherwise that day would just be solely going on nursery fees anyway. I am really fortunate that in my job I can do that, but not everyone else can." The couple are supported by their family - a luxury not available to many. Her mother-in-law cut down her hours so she can look after the boys twice a week. When the summer holidays roll around, the financial pressure intensifies. The daily rate for Jacob jumps from £20 to £50, as he attends full-time, plus an extra £5 for lunch. "The fees will go up over the summer holidays too, because then Jacob will be there for a full day rather than just after school. It's going to be an expensive one, but it's just one of those things, you've got to pay it. "So it's just frustrating but we have any other option." The choices made by Amba, Kelly and Jack reflect those made nationwide. As the day-to-day costs increase, long-term financial security is being affected. New research from MoneySuperMarket shows that nearly half of all families (44pc) are trapped in a financial wasteland, with less than two months of savings to fall back on if their household income suddenly stopped. The data, which combined Office for National Statistics (ONS) data with a nationwide survey of parents, will come as no surprise to most parents. One in five parents only have currently have a cash safety net that would last less than a single month, and one in 10 have taken the drastic step of reducing or pausing their pension contributions entirely. They found the total cost of raising a child in the UK from birth to 18 has soared to anywhere between £143,412 and £500,982, depending on childcare and schooling choices. For an average family who send their child to a state school, after attending nursery part-time, with one family holiday a year, the bill lands at a staggering £194,246. Cost of raising a child: - Lower tier: No nursery care, state school, no after-school clubs, no family holidays - £143,412 - Mid tier: Part-time nursery, state school, after-school care, standard family holidays - £194,246 - Upper tier: Full-time nursery, private school (ages 4–18), after-school care, family holidays - £500,982 MoneySuperMarket life insurance expert Kara Gammell added: "When you put real numbers against these choices, it becomes clear why so many families feel under pressure. While the long‑term cost of raising a child can feel daunting, having a realistic picture of day‑to‑day spending can help parents plan ahead, make informed financial decisions and think about the right protection for their circumstances – so they can focus on what really matters, their family.” - MoneySuperMarket has launched a new Child Cost Calculator to help families understand what raising a child might cost based on their specific childcare, schooling and lifestyle choices, covering everything from birth to 18.