Not exactly child's play

Children are increasingly luxury items. A recent report by Halifax Financial Services suggested that parents are feeling the heat of higher inflation, with school fees up 6% last year and 40% over five years, putting them out of reach for the average middle-income family. University in the UK is likely to cost £10,000 plus living expenses, while three years at a US university would set a parent back over £50,000. And that is after feeding and clothing them for 20 years. So how can investors ease the burden? There are likely to be two distinct phases in saving for children. One is the accu...