Before the puck drops, a parent must drain their pockets to outfit their child from head to toe. Skates, a helmet, shoulder pads, elbow pads, shin guards, gloves, hockey pants, neck guard, a stick, a mouth guard and a bag large enough to hold it all, is just the beginning. Even modest equipment purchases can reach $600 to $1,500 in the first year alone.
Foster's experience aligns with a well-known and disturbing trend in American health care: more children are having mental health problems. In 2023, 40% of high school students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and 20% had seriously considered attempting suicide, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study. Studies also found that more young people are going to emergency rooms for care an expensive option that can cost thousands of dollars.
Parents and grandparents are shouldering an unprecedented £2.8 billion a year to support students through university, as the soaring cost of higher education leaves families footing the bill. New research shows that 71 per cent of parents are either contributing, or planning to contribute, financially towards their children's time at university. The average outlay per family now stands at £8,723 annually. With more than 328,000 students enrolling in UK universities this year, the financial burden on households has reached a record high.