LONDON, May 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Pay little in the present for a bigger and better child's future

At the start of the year, The Guardian wrote a piece on the cost of raising a child, stating that it had risen 58% in a decade.

Breaking the figures down, this worked out at more than £4,000 up on 2012 and £82,000 more than 10 years ago when the first annual Cost of a Child Report, was published by the Centre for Economics and Business Research.

Up until the age of 21, parents spend an average of £19,270 on food and £16,195 on holidays per child. Education, however, seems to be the main offender for the increase - the cost of going to university has risen and this change makes a perfectly feasible conclusion as to why.

Of course, the cost of higher education isn't alone in making an impact. Long before this point, parents have to contend with uniforms for primary and secondary school, after school clubs and then university. Together the cost has rocketed from £32,593 to £72,832 per child in the past 10 years - a 124% increase.

 In total: Childcare costs have increased by 61% from £39,613 in 2003 to £63,738 in 2013.

The staggering figure has become all the more overwhelming in the current climate, when cuts to a range of benefits are considered and a range of areas affected. Single mums, housing benefits and council tax are a few on the list of subjected to change: all will make their mark on the household.

With so much to tick off and cough up for, it's expectant than many parents may simply forgo other essential s such as life insurance. However, the opposite is advisable. With the cost of raising a child rising dramatically and with parents the sole financial providers, it makes more than perfect sense for the family to invest in a life insurance that can continue to look after the child should the worst occur.

Life insurance premiums and packages are not the huge expense by any means, but a life without them is. A small sum ticking over on a monthly basis can be a quiet saving in the long run. It is not just fatalities; critical illness cover is also worth investing in. For the same reason: children get older and their lives need paying for.

Far from any cynical approach, this is a practical and logical investment that binds children to a fair and fruitful life at a time when the cost of raising each one is notoriously not cheap.

For more information on Legal & General's life insurance products please visit:

http://www.legalandgeneral.com/life-cover/

SOURCE Legal & General