AUSSIE PARENTS ‘BABY BIBLE’ TURNS 30 – THE SAME AVERAGE AGE AS MODERN DAY FIRST-TIME MUMS
The cost of raising a child has doubled from just ten years ago. But that hasn’t stopped Australia from finding itself in the midst of a baby boom, with our first time Mums most likely to be already 30.
Co-incidentally Australia’s most trusted parenting magazine, Mother & Baby celebrates its 30th birthday (on sale Thursday August 3) and has marked the occasion by exploring the ways things have changed for Aussie parents across the past generation.
Mother & Baby has been at the forefront of parenting trends and advice, offering support to hundreds of thousands of Australian mums.
“Mother & Baby has been a trusted friend to many new mums, offering advice and support during one of the most challenging and rewarding times in a woman’s life,” Mother & Baby editor Erin Mayo says.
“It’s surprising how much – and how little – has changed,” says Erin. “Many of the same issues that worried new mums back in the 1980s and 1990s, such as ‘is my baby getting enough sleep?’ still concern mums today.
“However, what we did notice was that there was more focus on the ‘must-have’ products for baby today than there was a few decades ago.”
BRINGING UP BABY … THEN AND NOW
The average age of a first time mum was 24.6 years in the 1980s compared to 30.2 four years ago
The cost of raising a child has doubled from 10 years ago. Today it costs $13,000 in the first year!
We’re in the midst of a baby boom! 305,377 babies were born in 2015 compared to 249,600 in 1998.
Top baby names for boys in 1987: Daniel, Matthew, Michael, Christopher, James
Top baby names for boys in 2016: Oliver, Jack, William, Noah, Ethan
Top baby names for girls in 1987: Sarah, Jessica, Rebecca, Melissa, Samantha
Top baby names for girls in 2016: Charlotte, Olivia, Mia, Amelia, Ava
Mother & Baby editor Erin Mayo
