Babies change parents' eating habits

The arrival of a first baby turns the shopping habits of Britain's new couples upside down, a new report claims today.

Most in demand are fresh and organic foods as families find their attention turning to health concerns. There is also a surge in spending on takeaways as harassed parents find themselves strapped for time.

The report from market analysts Datamonitor shows that the young family group - defined as a couple with a single child under the age of two - has significantly different needs to more experienced parents.

Across all income groups the largest drop in expenditure by new parents is on restaurant meals and drinks in bars, which show a decline of 26 per cent and 28 per cent respectively. Spending on fresh fruit and vegetables and organic food and drinks soars by 18 per cent and 11 per cent respectively.

In the UK there are some 740,000 parents with only one child under two. But falling fertility rates and a sharp decline in the number of 20-to 25-year-olds means that this group is forecast to fall at a rate of 0.4 per cent for the next five years.

The report also shows that the gender gap is narrowing in childcare with male parents spending around nine hours a week on lone childcare compared with an average of 13 hours a week for women.

But while more mothers are working, which increases household income, it also means more is being spent on childcare services. It also gives new mothers less free time - only 13.5 hours a week.

This indicates that such families would benefit from being offered high quality healthy convenience foods as well as assisted shopping or ecommerce, says the survey.