Parents drive 2.4 million miles for children’s sporting hobbies

British parents drive 2.4 million miles per year for their children-an average of 491 miles each, in their bid to support them in their sporting ventures. That’s according to a survey by Kwik-Fit, which found that almost five million doting parents regularly drive their kids to football, swimming, athletics and other sporting meet-ups.

A staggering 20,000 parents travel over 12,000 miles a year in the pursuit of their child’s sporting excellence and a further 50,000 mums and dads drive over 500 miles a month.

As a result parents spend a lot on fostering their children as potential future sporting stars. On average they spend £392 a year on memberships, lessons and equipment for their aspiring kids. That’s in addition to car running costs, which could be why a third (36 per cent) of motoring parents have delayed servicing their motor or replacing worn tyres, risking a breakdown, puncture or worse.

Football is the most common child’s sport that gets parents in the car, with swimming second. While football’s the most popular, parents only drive 72 miles a month for the sport. Athletics, on the other hand, accounts for the furthest average distance travelled by parents at 147 miles per month, and horse riding is second with 140 miles. Climbing requires parents to travel the third furthest (125 miles per month on average) whilst swimming (97 miles) and running (83 miles) are fourth and fifth respectively.

Londoners drive the furthest for their children’s sporting pursuits (949 miles p/a), with those in the North East driving the second furthest (783 miles). East Midlanders are third in the distance travelled charts. However, that region’s parents spend a whopping £1,043, on top of car running costs, to support their kids’ participation in sport – the highest average across the country and more than five times the amount spent in Scotland (£188).

Roger Griggs, communications director at Kwik Fit, said:  “We are a great nation for sport and it’s clear that British parents are making huge sacrifices both in terms of time and money so that the next generation of sporting stars can break through. For those parents who are eating up the miles to support their kids, it’s all the more important that they keep on top of maintenance so their car is reliable, but more importantly, safe.”

Kwik Fit advises parents who are regularly on the road supporting their children’s sporting activities to ensure their cars are kept in peak condition with the company providing fixed price servicing to keep costs under control.

Kwik-Fit’S research was carried out by ICM Research amongst a nationally representative sample of 2001 UK adults.

Author: Faye Sunderland, December 12th, 2011
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