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Saving on unnecessary child expenses
Raising infants has become such a costly affair. Parents could save themselves some of the costs . FILE PHOTO
As the cost of living is rises by the day, bringing up a child is becoming more and more expensive. However, regardless of this, the changing lifestyles many middle class parents are leading them to spend a lot on children. At times, this is done out of sheer ignorance or due to peer pressure.
Much as the cost of living has gone up children should not be as expensive to raise as they are today. In the past, many parents raised their children on breast milk and home-made food, which was not only cost effective but healthy.
Ms Mary Namasuba a grandmother of two children, a boy and a girl, does not understand what the fuss is all about. She says during her time, raising infants was never meant to be an expensive undertaking.
“I raised my six children on breast milk, pumpkins, fruits and other soft foods that were available, at no given time did I step into a supermarket to shop for children food, but the same cannot be said for today’s parents especially mothers who don’t even want to breast feed,” Ms Namasuba says.
She adds that she is amazed by how the times have changed and the amount of money her daughter spends on raising her grandchildren. However, Ms Namasuba’s daughter, Ms Florence Namatovu is quick to defend herself and her peers saying times have changed and with the busy lifestyles many parents sometimes don’t have time to even go to the market or even the garden.
“I’m a working mother and my schedule is always tight, since I cannot always be around my baby I prefer to shop for all his needs from the supermarket so the house help can take care of him properly without compromising his health,” Ms Namatovu says.
However, she is quick to admit that since she had her baby four months ago a big portion of her salary is spent on the upkeep of her son.
Every month Ms Namatovu buys four tins of SMA baby formula milk, each tin costs an average of Shs37, 000, eight packets of pampers, each costing an average of Shs22,000, three pairs of new baby clothes at an average of Shs80, 000 each, six packets of baby wipes, each costing an average of Shs6000 and she also pays for a monthly baby checkup, which at times costs upto Shs200, 000.
Therefore on average she spends Shs600, 000 on her baby. Asked why she spends that much on her son she says her friends spend the same if not more and she has no choice but to give her child the best.
“I have to spend this much because I want my son to be comfortable and in any case my friends spend more than I do on their children but mainly it’s because times have changed and I don’t need to stress myself when everything is available in the supermarkets,” Ms Namatovu explains.
This young mother is not alone. Many new parents seem to be riding in the same wagon where spending on these trendy is seen as the new effective form of raising infants.
From the choice of the hospital to the child utilities and upkeep all is but a show of class.
Though not many people look at it this way, it is unnecessary to have a baby in the most costly hospitals, feed the child with the most expensive milk powder and enroll him or her into what is perceived to be the best rated day care centre.
Piano lessons are not a necessity for every child and a top middle school is not the only choice.
It’s all very well for every parent to the best possible environment of growth to their children, but they don’t need to go out of their way to do this. “Before taking unrealistic measures, look at the overall spending habits for your baby.
Evaluate where the real drains are on the budget and tackle all the areas that you can,” Mr David Byona a financial consultant and a father of four says.
He advises that parents should avoid purchasing unnecessary items that the baby does not need in the next few months but should instead consider setting some money aside for the child’s future.
“Many parents panic because the baby is vulnerable and cannot express itself so they buy lots of things that they will probably never use as a precaution. They should instead make a point of committing a percentage to the future needs of the child,” he says.
This is because taking care of a child is a lifelong process, which requires proper planning and execution.
“Making sure the child grows from one step to the next is just the beginning, raising a child is never just as easy as buying several bags of milk powder to feed her or him. For example, when a child goes to school, the door of endless demands on money opens, therefore it is important for the parents to bear this in mind,” Mr Byona says.
To bring up children is not an easy job for parents at any time. But, no matter how times change, it is important to keep one’s expenses under control.
For instance a parent should consider breast-feeding instead of using baby formula.
Huge expenses creep up through the purchase of baby milk formulas. Breast feeding is certainly an inexpensive way to feed your baby besides the health besides the numerous health advantages that come with it.
Working mothers who don’t have time to breast feed can make an effort to express the milk and store it in the fridge to be used when they are at work. The second alternative would be to cut down on the amount of diapers used each day by choosing to use cloth diapers especially during day time.
As hard as the thought might be, using cloth diapers can save a lot of money in the course of a month because all you need to do is wash and reuse them. “When I had my first born I used diapers throughout until a friend of mine suggested that I buy a set of cloth diapers and use them during the day, although I was a bit skeptical I decided to try it out. At the end of the month I realised I had cut down on diaper spending by more than half,” Ms Charity Byamukama a mother of two says.
She also adds that she decided that instead of buying celerac as baby food, she used home made baby food like paw paw, pumpkin, fruits and other soft foods made from foods available in the market.
“I think with my first born I panicked and would use advise from all quarters no matter the cost but with my second born I decide to go semi traditional and I ended up saving handsomely,” Ms Byamukama explains.
She says she also realised that buying expensive clothes for her baby was proving to be a daunting task because after every two months she had to spend on more clothes because the baby would quickly outgrow the previous ones.
“I would shop for my baby every now and then but I realised I was spending to much because weeks later the baby would be too grown to fit in the clothes, so in the end I had a pile of expensive, useless baby outfits,” she says.
This made her decide to shop in less expensive arcades but that was not all she decided to save the clothes, toys and strollers that the baby had out grown for her second child.
“Sometimes parents are reluctant to clothe their kids with hand me clothes but the truth is, it saves a lot of money, which can be used to take care of other family needs,” Ms Byamukama concludes.
