How Much To Raise A Child In Malaysia? From Pregnancy To Childhood Education

More Malaysians are feeling the heat from the rising costs of living and some of those who are planning to start a family may have put their plans on hold because they cannot afford to have a child. However, it is surprisingly pleasant to know that we can still access free and affordable maternity services provided by government-owned hospitals and clinics.

Despite so, parenting requires more than just planning for birth delivery but also includes education, living necessities and also supplementary things to help your child grow. According to AIA Bhd’s research, it takes about RM 440,000 to RM 1.1 mil to raise a child including delivery costs, schooling costs, and University fees.

To help you better plan your future child, we have listed down the costs incurred and comparison of pre-natal requirements, delivery costs, and baby goods up until their pre-school fees.

This may or may not necessarily be applicable to all parents or future parents in the country but we certainly hope it gives you a guideline to set down your financial goal.

How much are the costs throughout your pregnancy period?

During this period, you will have to start preparing funds for monthly check-ups and ultrasound scans. Though medical costs have gone up over the past few years especially after the introduction of GST, you can still gain access to cheap or free medical attention from local government clinics and hospitals.

For instance, Klinik Kesihatan Ibu & Anak which is owned and operated by the government allows mothers to get free medical checkups with anti-tetanus injection. However, if you intend to save time from the long queue, you can still get a medical check-up from the specialist clinic or private hospital at about RM 200 per visit.

As for baby delivery costs, depending on your preference and situation (birth condition), you will need to prepare at least RM10,000 to RM15,000 in order to welcome your child with the help of the experts at any of these hospitals.

How much are post-birth delivery costs?

There are several things that come to mind that you will need to spend on when your child is born such as diapers, milk, baby products and vaccines. Thanks to scheduled vaccinations made compulsory by the Ministry of Health, your child can have their vaccination in line with their age for free.

How much are baby necessities?

However, you will need to prepare at least RM700 – RM2,000 a month (depending on your budget and preference) to prepare the necessities for your baby in the first few years including diapers, a crib, baby products and milk powder.

Here is the list of baby necessities you will need to prepare for:

Pre-school and kindergarten fees

It is becoming more common for parents to start sending their kids to pre-school or day care at a younger age, starting from as young as two or three years old as it helps to relieve some burden from working parents. Compared with hiring a nanny or a babysitter which costs about RM 1,000 to RM 1,500 in Malaysia on average , many choose to send their children to the pre-school nursery which also allows their child to mingle with other kids and build social skills.

According to HSBC's latest survey report: The Value of Education Higher and Higher, Malaysian parents spend an average of US$25,479 on their children's education alone.

"Most parents (71%) started making plans for their child’s education, and 60% started making funding decisions before their child had begun primary education. Over half (54%) are putting a child through paid-for education, and almost two-thirds (63%) are paying for private tuition or have done so in the past. "- HSBC's report.

For an average neighborhood pre-school nursery and kindergarten, it costs about RM 700- RM 1,000 a month for a full-day care service and RM 400 – RM 500 for half-day care service. Though this includes food, basic learning materials and toys at the nursery, parents will need to prepare an extra RM 100 – RM 200 for miscellaneous costs every month such as outdoor activities and extra learning events.

As for International schools, it can cost from RM 10,000 to RM 30,000 for nursery level per annum and the figures continue to rise for primary and secondary levels.

Though some may claim that international schools may provide a comprehensive learning curriculum for the children, parents must consider their financial capabilities and know that many of the local kindergartens in the neighbourhood offer learning platform and services that are just as good as the former.

Hence, it is still up to parents’ hard work to do their research and enrol their children into the best learning platforms in order to let them grow and learn in an environment that makes them happy and safe.

In the same report released by HSBC, the vast majority (87%) of parents are helping to fund their child’s current stage of education, with the highest proportions in Indonesia (98%), Egypt (96%) and Malaysia (96%), and the lowest proportions in the UK (71%), France (76%) and the USA (77%).

The cost of getting a degree in local universities ranges between RM8,000 to RM15,000 (excluding hostel fees and living costs), depending on the subject chosen. Prices for a similar degree can go as high as RM80,000 if you choose to study in private university or college.

So, are you looking forward to raising a child? If you are, remember to get a great cashback credit card or an outstanding reward credit card to save more money from your spending moving forward!