MUMS and dads in Scotland are battling the stress and soaring cost of back-to-school shopping by hunting for loose change down the back of the sofa … and even borrowing from their own children.
A Coinstar back-to-school survey shows over half (57%) of parents in Scotland say they find the process of shopping for new school kit stressful – and expect to spend an average of £250 per child to return to school.
Parents in Scotland say they foot the bill for the new term by borrowing from grandparents (37%), going into overdraft (27%) with one in ten (9%) dipping into their children’s savings.
Two in five (43%) Scottish parents say they would cash-in spare change found around the house to make sure their kids start school with the correct kit.
And the majority (80%) fear they will be hit in the pocket again during the year to cover the cost of school projects and trips – with an average of £330.
Scottish parents say rising costs and peer pressure to keep up with the latest trends fuels back-to-school stress
The Coinstar survey, carried out by Atomik Research, revealed nearly half (45%) of Scottish parents surveyed say school costs are rising and a third (34%) say they have to cut back on household essentials to foot the back-to-school bill.
Forty-three per cent of Scottish parents say they and their kids suffer from peer pressure to buy the most fashionable clothing to start the new academic year.
Parents of children aged 7-11 say their kids are the most likely (50%) age group to face peer pressure when shopping for new uniform compared to 33% of those aged 14-6.
Two thirds (64%) of Scottish parents said clothing is the biggest back-to-school expense, followed by school supplies (14%) and extracurricular fees (11%).
Three in five (61%) parents rely on the big supermarkets to supply their back-to-school list, while 41% say they use specialist school uniform stores and just 11% shop online.
Mums and dads in Scotland have different spending behaviour when it comes to back-to-school shopping.
Nearly half (47%) of mums in Scotland say they are considering or will use spare change to buy school supplies compared with 40% of dads.
Dads are slightly more laid back than mums when it comes to shopping for back-to-school, with 58% of women saying they find the experience stressful compared to 56% of men.
Dads should go back-to-school shopping alone as 50% of those surveyed said they overspent when they shopped without their children compared with 41% who blow the budget when they take the kids.
Nick Harris, vice president of European operations, Coinstar Limited, said: “Back-to-school shopping can put stress on household finances, especially as costs rise. The Coinstar survey revealed that British parents are resourceful and are finding ways to meet this budget challenge.”
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