Search icon

Parenting

18th Jan 2018

This is the average cost of the damage a child does to a house

We'd believe it...

Anna O'Rourke

For many parents, this will come as no surprise.

A survey in the UK has revealed that a child causes an average of £3,466 (€3,984) worth of damage over their lifetime.

Yep – one child is liable to cause damage to the tune of €4,000, apparently.

Wall damage was the most common type – 84 per cent of parents surveyed said they’d had to have walls and woodwork fixed up because of their kids.

Carpet stains were also a big issue for parents, as 78 per cent said they’d had to get specialist cleaners in.

Damage to sofas, chairs and beds, mirrors, ornaments and pictures and TVs, phones, tablets and digital boxes were among the other most common types of destruction caused by children in the home, according to the Daily Express.

“I do think £3,466 could be a daunting figure but many aspects of decor, furniture and furnishings in the home will eventually be replaced or upgraded anyway,” said Andrew Nesbitt of DiscountFlooringDepot.co.uk, which carried out the research.

“Most parents seem to understand that for kids these kinds of thrills and spills are just part of growing up.”