小兒難養

By Fraser Wood

ew parents think that bringing up a child will be cheap， but even though most are surprised and no doubt a little scared to be told that total costs could be over￡220，000. So， for parents like Vanetta Brown， having a child means sacrifices and some tough decisions. Vanetta： I remember the last time Ive been shopping or holidays or anything like that， but I have to 1）prioritize things that I prefer 2）to go without to give my children what they need.

很少會有父母認為養育一個孩子的費用很低，但即使是這樣，當被告知養育一個孩子的總費用會超過22萬英鎊（約為人民幣204萬元）時，大多數人還是會感到驚訝，并且毫無疑問地有點害怕。所以，像文娜塔·布朗這樣的父母，養育一個孩子意味著犧牲和做一些艱難的決定。文娜塔：我記得我最后一次購物，或者度假或做其他類似的事情的時候，但我得將各事排個輕重緩急，我寧愿放棄一些東西，把錢花在孩子們需要的東西上。

Nursery Staff： Weve seen a shift most definitely to parents maybe coming here three or four days a week， and probably sharing care with maybe grandparents for that…for that other day， or maybe themselves working a full day a week so they can reduce the cost of childcare.

The figures say three quarters of the countrys families are reducing their spending， with over a quarter having to cut back on essentials.

Father A： Childcare and food really， and just the cost of living is a big 3）outgoing for me.

Mother A： I cant afford to keep him full time in childcare now， so， hence shes in part time， and， yeah， cause I just cant afford to work full time any more.

Mother B： My whole…my whole salary goes into nursery fees. In fact， well， it， yeah， its 4）staggering.

Father B： You have to think very carefully about when you have your children. If you…if you have them too close together， you have two in nursery the same time， it…its 5）crippling.

幼兒園工作人員：我們已經看到了明顯的變化，父母也許會一周來這里三四次，在其他天里可能要祖父母輩來帶孩子，或者說他們自己每周工作一整天，這樣他們可以降低幼托成本。

數據顯示，全英國有四分之三的家庭試圖減少他們的開支，四分之一的家庭必須削減生活的基本費用。

父親甲：育兒和食物真的，僅僅是生活費對我來說就已經是一筆很大的開支了。

母親甲：現在我沒辦法讓他天天來，所以，那她就只能來部分時間了，嗯，對，因為我真的沒辦法全職上班了。

母親乙：我的全部……我的全部工資都用來支付幼兒園費用了。事實上，嗯，它，是的，費用很驚人。

父親乙：什么時候要孩子，這你得考慮清楚了。如果你……如果你兩個孩子間隔太近的話，你就有兩個孩子同時上托兒所，這是……這是很讓人崩潰的。

Another increasing expense for parents is technology. Pretty soon the toddlers in this nursery in Manchester wont be satisfied with cheaper traditional toys like this（6）Rubiks Cube）. Theyll want toys like their parents have； toys like this（iPad）. And the average family is set to spend around ￡300 per year per child on 7）gadgets. These toddlers are 8）blissfully unaware of the cost of living， another luxury their parents can ill afford.

對父母來說，科技新玩意兒是又一項不斷增加的費用。很快，這所曼徹斯特幼兒園的孩子們將不會滿足于這些便宜的傳統玩具（魔方）。