This claim is made from new research released today by The Children’s Mutual. In its annual ‘What I Want to Be’ poll, becoming a teacher, doctor or vet are the job of choice for five, six and seven year-olds, but parents are being warned to start saving now as the latter two could cost £116,000 and £117,000 respectively in 18 years’ time.
Tony Anderson, Marketing Director of The Children’s Mutual, said: “Parents tell us their young children are highly ambitious and that they, as parents, fully intend to help them fund their futures. But the sums of money the top careers command could cause financial nightmares for families who don’t plan ahead. While the Coalition Government has announced its plan to significantly reduce payments into Child Trust Funds from 1 August 2010 and to abolish the scheme altogether for new babies born from 1 January 2011, the reality is that the cost of children’s futures hasn’t changed. We believe that the only way for parents to financially manage these costs is by saving regularly over the long term and are urging them to continue doing so.”
The Children’s Mutual questioned over a thousand parents about what their children said they wanted to be when they grew up and found that the majority of today’s children are looking for a career which requires further training and education. The top careers of doctor, teacher and vet have featured in the ‘What I Want To Be’ poll for the last three years, demonstrating that children consistently aspire to careers that will need higher education. It currently costs £74,700 to train to become a doctor and £75,100 to become a vet but these are set to increase by around £41,000 based on current projection levels over the next 18 years.
93 per cent of parents of today’s young adults are still funding their children, according to The Children’s Mutual, and the expert in long-term savings for children does not anticipate this changing. It is urging parents to continue saving regularly over the long term rather than having to face finding such large sums of money in the future.
Top 10 career ambitions for 2010, according to The Children’s Mutual:
Ranking 2010 Top 10
1 Teacher (1)
2 Vet (2)
3 Footballer (4)
4 Doctor (3)
5 Fireman/woman (5)
6 Policeman/woman (7)
7 Pop Star (New entry)
8 Nurse (New entry)
9 Archaeologist/scientist (New entry)
10 Dancer (New entry)
Top 10 career ambitions, girls vs. boys, according to The Children’s Mutual
Ranking Girls 2010 Top 10 Boys 2010 Top 10
1 Teacher Footballer
2 Vet Policeman
3 Doctor Fireman
4 Nurse Archaeologist/scientist
5 Dancer Doctor
6 Hairdresser Teacher
7 Pop Star Vet
8 Artist Astronaut
9 Actress Soldier
10 Ballerina Super Hero
Boys on the other hand chose stereotypical physical careers with soldier, fireman and policeman amongst their dream jobs. Boys’ hopes of becoming a scientist may be sparked by the likes of Doctor Who.
Mr Anderson said: “The children questioned for our research are lucky enough to have a Child Trust Fund account and with half of accounts opened with us receiving additional savings on a monthly basis, we hope these children face brighter financial futures. The question going forward is how parents will fill the savings black hole for children born from January 2011 if the Child Trust Fund is scrapped.”
For further information on The Children’s Mutual, please visit www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk
