The Cost of Raising Girls

The Cost of Raising Girls

Most of us assume that raising children, whether they’re boys or girls, should cost around the same. Of course, the cost for parents depends on many things, including extracurricular activities, whether they go to university or not, and many other aspects of the money invested in raising a child. However, it seems there’s more to it. In fact, recent studies have revealed how it is in fact more expensive to raise girls, than raise boys.

“girl” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Mariela De Marchi Moyano

Money saving website Couponbox conducted a survey to research the difference in cost for men and women (and boys and girls), finding out the variance of what we’ve come to know as the “pink tax” and the “blue tax”. They discovered that although men may pay more for certain products or services than women, women on the whole pay more.

 

What Is the Pink Tax and the Blue Tax?

The pink tax is a premium which sees women pay more for a product that is labelled or marketed especially for women. It may be that the exact same product is aimed at men, with only a change in color or packaging (women’s products are often pink). However, although these two are identical apart from color or packaging, men’s products are cheaper than the women’s. The blue tax is a premium where men pay more for a product that is similarly targeted at men, yet the same product will be cheaper for women.

“Daddy’s Girl” (CC BY 2.0) by MZPlus

What Do Girls Pay More For?

A simple example of the pink tax vs. the blue tax is the disposable razor. Men have a large range of disposable razors available on the market, usually set at a competitively standard price. Women have a smaller range of products available, colored pink and labelled “for women” – at a costlier price and the only difference is the color. Waxing kits for women are 47% more pricey than for men and girls’ underwear is on average 42% more expensive than boys underwear. However, men also pay more for a variety of products such as hair regrowth treatment, deodorant, certain items of clothing and a sizable 197% more for manicure kits.

“Girls” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Ian Norman (Lonely Speck)

Girls to Teens

When girls are pre-adolescent they are not using so many products, so the costs really start to increase when they become teenagers. With the essentials of deodorant, moisturizers, hair removers and other necessary items, we also have the added cost of make-up, hair accessories and other beauty products. In fact, even puberty costs with the need for sanitary items and underwear. The pink tax comes into full expenditure as our girls evolve into young women.

 

The Cost of Raising Children

The cost of raising a child in the USA was estimated at $245,000 in 2014 by the US Department of Agriculture, and this amount excludes paying for university or college. The expense seems to be steadily increasing by 2% each year and includes food, housing, clothing, transport, health care, child care, education and additional everyday costs like essentials, haircuts and cell phones. While reports show that it costs the same to feed boys and girls, it appears that parents spend more on girls for school supplies, clothing and products.