How much does a child cost?

An average of 640 euros per month. so much does it cost to maintain each child according to the Bank of Italy Report, calculated in the 2017-2020 period, in households made up of two adults and one or more minor children? This is a cost that includes purchases of goods and services intended exclusively for children (for example food for babies and school fees) and a share of consumption recorded at the family level (such as housing and transport costs). Over half of the expenditure (almost 60%) was destined to meet basic needs (food, clothing, and expenses for the home, education, and health).

Expenditure in the South is lower than in the Center and North, even if the incidence is more or less unchanged. The cost of a child weighs fairly evenly on the family budget for about a quarter of the average income. About a fifth of the gap concerning housing costs, which reflect the higher cost of real estate in the central and northern regions, and about two-thirds of less essential consumption (leisure, transport, and other). The amount, almost stable in the three years 2017-19, contracted in 2020 to 580 euros (12 percent less than 2019), when fears of contagion and restrictions on mobility connected with the pandemic greatly reduced spending on consumption, in particular for transport and leisure.

The estimates are based on criteria for the distribution of consumption measured for the entire nucleus among the various components and “do not take into account the fact that parents may decide to reduce their consumption to fully satisfy those of the offspring”, reads. Finally, the Bank of Italy reminds us that since last March the disbursement of the single and universal allowance has begun, to strengthen the economic support measures for households with children.