Produced by: Manoj Kumar
Financial experts say raising a child in India now costs around ₹1.17 crore from birth to age 21. For middle- and upper-middle-class families, it’s a long-term commitment that rivals buying a house.
Education eats up 46% of the total cost. With annual fee hikes and rising competition, even basic schooling can feel like financing a degree abroad.
Food and clothing account for just over 10%—but they’re daily, recurring costs that quietly snowball over two decades of growing kids and evolving tastes.
Entertainment clocks in at ₹12.87 lakh. From birthday parties and gaming consoles to coaching classes and content subscriptions, fun comes with a price tag.
A child changes your space needs. Families spend close to ₹20 lakh more on rent, upgrades, and location-based decisions to ensure safety, schooling, and comfort.
₹4.29 lakh goes into healthcare, from routine vaccinations and dental visits to hospital emergencies. Even with insurance, out-of-pocket costs remain significant.
Daily drop-offs, pickups, and school bus fees add up to ₹5.36 lakh. Add to that cycles, helmets, and eventually scooters—mobility costs span the childhood arc.
₹3.21 lakh sits in miscellaneous spending: school trips, gifts, tutoring, tech gadgets. These “optional” expenses often become essential in modern parenting.
With education inflation soaring at 7–10%, today’s ₹1.17 crore could look modest in 10 years. Experts advise families to plan early—and plan long.