Parents can find themselves spending more than £300 for their child to attend a school prom, a survey indicates.
And proms may happen more than once during a child’s schooldays, with nearly a fifth (19%) of parents who were surveyed saying their child has attended a primary school prom, according to the research from buy now pay later provider Clearpay.
Primary school proms appear to be particularly popular in the East Midlands, where 26% of parents surveyed said their child has gone to one, as well as London (25%) and the North West of England (23%), according to the survey.
Mini-sized prom outfits appear to be growing in popularity.
Clearpay said its own sales data indicates annual growth in spending on children’s formalwear, including prom dresses and suits.
The research commissioned by Clearpay indicated that, across all school ages, some parents may be spending as much as £313 on funding a child’s prom trip typically, factoring in costs such as the average costs of tickets, travel, make-up, clothing, accessories and hair-styling.
Girls are significantly more expensive than boys when it comes to prom preparations, with parents spending as much as £392 on girls typically – £157 more than the average of £235 for boys.
Some grandparents are also helping parents to finance proms, the survey found, with grandparents estimated to contribute to prom costs in around 19% of cases.
Aunts and uncles are also contributing in around 14% of cases, with the child themselves spending on their own prom in around 12% of cases.
More than two-thirds (68%) of parents agreed that social media has made prom spending feel more competitive, and two in five (40%) admitted feeling judged by other parents if their child’s outfit is not impressive enough.
Many families are also finding ways to manage the cost, with two-fifths (40%) of parents setting a specific budget and sticking to it, more than a fifth (21%) doing hair, make-up or nails at home rather than using a salon, and 14% buying preowned outfits.
Despite the costs, nearly seven in 10 (69%) parents feel that a prom is an important milestone that should be celebrated properly, and more than three-quarters (76%) said seeing their child dressed up was worth every penny.
OnePoll surveyed 2,000 parents across the UK of children aged 18 and under in May for the research.
