The answer is – check your bank balance! Because the next 12 months will be the more costly than any other 12 month period in your child’s life.

Clothes, living expenses, University fees and a car add up to as much as £18,302 a survey has revealed. When a teenager goes to Uni their cost of living soars – and parents are left holding the cost of an active social life and education. So this cost is made up of around £1,300 a month plus a second hand car costing £2,700.

This cost comes as a big financial shock as the first 17 years of the child’s life were relatively cheap. During earlier years the costs involved in raising them were effectively absorbed into the wider household budget – they ate the same food and lived in the same house. The only “extra” was the weekend spending money.

Then suddenly the child turns 18 and the parents are automatically expected to fork out thousands that they had not previously thought about. The biggest cost relates to Uni. Tuition fees average £328.45 a month only to be exceeded by the £527.33 it costs each month for their rent. Then there’s £59.50 for clothes and accessories, £78 for food, mobile phone £50.88, £120.75 on extra curricular activities such as gym and sports clubs, and £60.45 on electronic gadgets such as video and games consoles. Phew, what a list!

It is little surprise therefore that many 18 year olds are forced to start earning for themselves. Around two thirds of all 18 year olds get themselves a part time job even if they’re studying - bringing in an average of £167.45.