Before taking the plunge and starting a family, many couples ask themselves how to anticipate future expenses. Baby room, stroller, fittings… Contrary to popular belief, it is not the initial equipment that weighs the heaviest, but what is installed over time, month after month. According to an Ipsos survey for the E.Leclerc New Consumption Observatory, young parents spent on average 490 euros per month for their first child.
But this figure, which includes around 250 euros in childcare costs, can vary by a factor of two depending on whether you opt for a public nursery, a childminder or home care. In addition, the last survey dates from 2019: inflation has since caused all items to increase. To help with these purchases, CAF pays a birth bonus of €1,093.08 during the 7th month of pregnancy, if your couple does not exceed the income ceiling. This can help with expenses ahead of the baby’s arrival.
What starting equipment costs
Even before birth, there is the initial shopping list: cot or co-sleeper, stroller, car seat, changing table, bathtub, breast pump, baby carrier, baby monitor… Bought new, the whole set easily represents between 1,500 and 3,000 euros. The stroller alone can cost between 300 and 2,000 euros for the most practical and advanced models, and the car seat between 80 and 400 euros. The bed, with its standard mattress, ranges between 150 and 500 euros new.
Armelle, a young mother of a little girl, remembers all these expenses well: “I didn’t anticipate at all what it was really going to cost “. She thus fell back on second hand: “ I exclusively purchased from Le Bon Coin and Marketplace for the bedthe high chair, the park… without that, I don’t know how we would have managed”. His testimony is not isolated. On forums like Reddit, the question “How much is your child?” » comes up, again and again, from worried parents, who are told to buy second-hand, or even to get as much as possible from family or friends who had a child before you.
In fact, going through Le Bon Coin, Vinted, Marketplace or local Facebook groups can divide the bill by two or three on large items. A few points to be vigilant though: the car seat should never be bought second-hand if you do not know its history (a seat that has suffered an impact, even without visible damage, can be weakened), and the bed mattress must be new for reasons of hygiene and prevention of sudden infant death.
Monthly expenses to know
Once the baby is there, the expenses pile up. Layers represent between 30 and 70 euros per month depending on the age of the child and the brand chosen: a newborn consumes up to 240 diapers per month. If you do not breastfeed, infant milk adds between 40 and 80 euros per month. But, if like Armelle, your baby suffers from an allergy to cow’s milk proteins (CMPA), specific milk can cost two to four times more.
The good news: these prescription milks are reimbursed at approximately 65% of the SS base by Social Security. Consumption gradually decreases from dietary diversification, around 6 months. You also have to think about clothes, because a child grows quickly. There too, buying second hand helps reduce the total cost.
Biggest cost: custody
Depending on whether you opt for a crèche, an approved childminder, home care or whether a parent decides to stop working, the annual bill has nothing to do with it. A childminder costs on average between 800 and 1,200 euros gross per month for full time, depending on hours and region, excluding maintenance and meal allowances. A private nursery varies between 475 and 1,600 euros per month depending on the city and the type of establishment; the national average is around 740 euros. Home care often costs more than 2,000 euros. The public crèche remains the cheapest solution, calculated on the basis of taxable income, but places are rare. It’s better to do it early, as soon as you hear the good news.
Fortunately, CAF partially compensates. The CMG (Care Supplement) can reach 538 euros per month for the lowest-income households if they use a childminder. The basic allowance, paid every month until the child is 3 years old, reaches 198 euros per month at the full rate. The new birth leave also comes into force very soon. This aid requires advance notice: some require a declaration to the CAF upon declaration of pregnancy.
