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How much money did parents spend on parental counseling/child guidance/parental advice in 2016? This includes workshops, classes, individual counseling sessions, books, etc. Interesting ages would be parents with children ages 7-14.
Hello! Thanks for your question about how much do parents of children aged 7-14 spend on parental counselling or guidance services and materials. The most useful sources I found to answer your question are from the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of Labor. The short version is that there is currently no publicly available information to provide you with solid figures that determine the amount of money parents with children aged 7-14 spend on parental counselling, guidance services or parenting books. However, backed by research and analysis from various sources, they are trending towards spending less.
Below you will find a deep dive of my findings.
METHODOLOGY
Considering that the usual expected targeted search strings for requests like this did not yield the information you are looking for, I decided to take indirect approaches, hoping to find enough data to reach a triangulation that would help us come up with the answers you are looking for. Examples of search strings I started with include "Parenting Counselling Cost US", "Parent Expenditure US", "Childcare Counselling Expenses", etc.
I first directed my research towards different US government bureaus and non-profit organizations such as the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for their expenditure by parents on childcare. I then proceeded to scan through the website of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, looking for similar statistics. After which, I visited the United States Department of Labor for the consumer price index which included parents' spending on counselling services, and how that spending has evolved over the recent years.
I then redirected my research towards parenting counselling companies that offered on-site workshops, sessions or online services so that I could gain better insight into the average price of these services.
I also researched about the best-selling books for parenting, with the objective of finding the average amount parents would be willing to spend for these materials.
Considering that a huge portion of parents that currently have children aged 7-14 fall under the Millennials category, I took initiative and searched for studies about Millennial behavior during parenthood and how their spending and childcare strategies compares to parents from older generations.
The report by the USDA classifies a family's spending into 7 categories. I focused primarily on the miscellaneous category, which included expenses for materials related to childcare. Families that participated in the survey were classified by income and then by civil status of the parents. There was no other publicly available data more specific than this for this particular type of report, so I decided to proceed with these findings.
The report states that only 26% of married couples in the lower-income group had expenses for childcare and education. That percentage rises to 41% for middle-income groups and 52% for higher income groups.
The survey found that household income is directly correlated with the expenses of families for childcare. Total annual expenses of all age categories ranged from $9,330 to $9,980 for families with combined household incomes below $59,200. Expenses ranged from $12,350 to $13,900 for households that earned $59,200 to $107,400. Expenses ranged from $19,380 to $23,380 for households that earned more than $107,400.
According to the report, only 7% of expenses of all families fell under the miscellaneous category, which is where parenting counselling services were classified under.
Families with children aged 6-8 spent the most on the miscellaneous category followed by those with children aged 9-11, who in-turn spent more then families with children aged 12-14. Families with children that belonged to other age groups spent less for the category.
Married-couple families in the US that had a combined income of less that $59,200 and children ages 6-14 in 2015 spent $667 on average for childcare-related miscellaneous expenses. I came up with this value by getting the average of 3 age groups covered by the request: 6-8 ($680), 9-11 ($740) and 12-14 ($580).
Married-couple families in the US that had a combined income between $59,200 to $ 107,400 and children ages 6-14 spent $1037 on average. I came up with this value by getting the average of 3 age groups covered by the request: 6-8 ($1050), 9-11 ($1110) and 12-14 ($950).
Married-couple families in the US that had a combined income above $107,400 and children ages 6-14 spent $1867 on average. I came up with this value by getting the average of 3 age groups covered by the request: 6-8 ($1880), 9-11 ($1940) and 12-14 ($1780).
Single parent families in the US that had an income of less that $59,200 and children ages 6-14 in 2015 spent $734 on average for childcare-related miscellaneous expenses. I came up with this value by getting the average of 3 age groups covered by the request: 6-8 ($660), 9-11 ($790) and 12-14 ($750).
Single parent families in the US that had an income above $59,200 and children ages 6-14 in 2015 spent $734 on average for childcare-related miscellaneous expenses. I came up with this value by getting the average of 3 age groups covered by the request: 6-8 ($1510), 9-11 ($1640) and 12-14 ($1600).
The AAMFT currently has a database of research papers and case studies about marriage, family and parenting that may prove useful to come up with the answers you are looking for. I tried applying for membership because only members were granted access, however, I was greeted by a paywall that amounted to $185 before I could finalize my registration.
A portion of consumer price index of 2015 released by The United States Department of Labor included the price index for personal services expenses which includes counselling services.
It was given a rating of 403.190 for December 2015, where 100 was equal to the price index during 1984. It was rated at 400.490 back in December 2014.
For comparison, rent for housing received a rating of 291.204 on December 2015, while food and beverages combined received a rating of 247.468.
I included this in my findings to provide you with a different perspective for comparing the increase in parental counselling expenses to other expenses.
PARENT COUNSELLING AND WORKSHOPS
I researched about the average prices of parenting counselling workshops and services to provide you with more information about how much parents would be willing to spend on such services.
Their services include group classes in a designated venue or one-on-one sessions with the customers children.
Backed by over 30 years of research, Positive Parenting Program (Triple-P), is one of the best and most supported parenting counselling services today in the US.
BCCF has a an online service specifically for parents with children aged 7-13.
4.) PREZI
A case study by Debate.org published on Prezi states that on average, 12-week parenting classes usually cost around $400.
PARENTING BOOKS
I researched about the average prices of parenting books to provide you with more information about how much parents would be willing to spend on such materials.
Books included in this list are from Amazon's best-selling parenting books. I segregated the entries and only included those catered towards parents with children aged 7-14.
A copy would cost around $18.74 if hardcover, $7.85 if paperback, $23.32 as an audio CD and $7.46 for a digital copy for Kindle.
"No-Drama Discipline: The Whole-Brain Way to Calm the Chaos and Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind" costs $12.95 if hardcover, $8.70 if paperback, and $8.26 as a digital copy for Kindle.
"Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood" costs $14.69 if hardcover, $11.00 if paperback, and $10.45 as a digital copy for Kindle.
"Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World: How One Family Learned That Saying No Can Lead to Life's Biggest Yes" costs $10.55 if paperback, $2.99 as a digital copy for Kindle and $24.99 as an audio book on CD.
"Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids: How to Stop Yelling and Start Connecting" costs $8.70 if paperback, $10.24 as a digital copy for Kindle and $26.42 as an mp3 on CD.
MILLENNIAL PARENTS
Millennials account for 80% of annual births in the US and that number is quickly rising. Generation Alpha, or children aged 10 and below, all have Millennials parents. This means that a big percentage of children aged 7-14 have Millennial parents.
A survey by Time states that 58% of Millennials find all available information about parenting overwhelming.
A study by Pew Research states that 52% of Millennials are confident with their parenting capabilities. Only 43% of Gen X'ers believe they are good parents, while the percentage drops to 41% for Boomer parents.
SUMMARY
A summary of my research boils down to these 4 important points:
1.) There is a big increase of price for parenting counselling services.
2.) There is more data stating that there is a direct correlation between the age of the parent and the amount they are willing to spend for parenting guidance.
4.) Surveys show that Millennials are the most confident parents.
Backed by research and analysis from various sources, these findings may be indicators that the parents of children aged 7-14 are currently trending towards spending less for parenting counselling and guidance services and workshops.
SUGGESTION
If you wish to gain further insight into the percentage of spending of parents allocated to counselling and guidance services, researching about studies that detail the spending habits of Millennials may be a good starting point.
You may also find leads through a research about how the attitude of Millennials change upon entering parenthood or marriage.
CONCLUSION
To wrap it up, there is currently no publicly available information to provide you with solid figures that determine the amount of money parents with children aged 7-14 spend on parental counselling, guidance services or parenting books. However, backed by research and analysis from various sources, they are trending towards spending less.
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