The £1,000 cost of summer childcare: How school holidays can hit parents for a fifth of average take-home pay Childcare has soared through £100-per-week barrier for the first time More than half of parents will spend £1,000 per child on entertainment this summer, a study reveals 40 per cent will rely on grandparents or other family to help with care Childcare and days out will cost parents more than £1,000 during the summer holidays as prices soar, figures have revealed. Parents are now being forced to spend more than a fifth of their pre-tax take home pay on looking after their youngsters during the school break, if grandparents cannot help out. Once the cost of days out, treats and meals out is taken into account the total price of the holidays tops £1,000 per child for more than half of families, a survey has revealed. Summer sun: The cost of childcare and keeping children entertained during the holidays has hit £1,000, a study has found. here youngsters queue for ice creams in Hyde Park, London, during the recent heatwave The average charge for holiday childcare has burst through the £100 per week barrier for the first time, an increase of around ten per cent on last year. Privately-run schemes cost £109.23 on average but are up to £20 more in some areas. That represents more than 20 per cent of the average pre-tax take home pay of around £500 per week across Britain. The inflation-busting price rises will put pressure on working parents who struggle to afford holiday cover. The Family and Childcare Trust, which conducted the research, said more children would be left on their own at home over the summer break as a result. It called for schools in rural areas - where schemes are scarce - to remain open during holidays and for tax breaks to help mothers stay at home. A separate study by Nationwide building society found that more than half of parents will spend an extra £1,000 per child over the summer. Soaring childcare costs: This table shows the average price of state-run and private childcare by region in the UK To save money, 40 per cent of parents will rely on grandparents or other family to help out with childcare, while 22 per cent will turn to friends for help. However, 61 per cent said they will be forced to use their savings to help cover the cost of keeping their children entertained. The Family an Childcare Trust chief executive Anand Shukla said: 'With holiday childcare costs rising faster than wages and with the average weekly rate in Britain now breaking the £100-a-week threshold, we are likely to see more parents forced to take unpaid leave, or unable to afford to enter the labour market, and more children left without adult supervision during the summer break. We need to ensure that recent proposals to allow schools to determine their own term times do not add to the problem. Richard Marriott, a spokesman for Nationwide, said: 'It's inevitable that when the kids are not at school, the cost of normal family life rockets. Summer day out: People take advantage of a beach area on London's Southbank during the recent scorching weather 'Whether it's the price of childcare, days out, having friends over, entertainment or food, most parents will feel some impact on their pockets.' Local authorities have a legal duty to provide sufficient childcare for working parents. But the study found only a third in England and one in six in Wales would achieve this. One in five parents with children under 15 will use formal holiday clubs or play schemes this summer. But the average bill is now just over £100 at state-funded schemes following an 11 per cent rise since last year. The nine per cent increase among those run independently means care for two children over four weeks would leave working parents with a bill of £873.84. The highest average cost was in the East of England, where the rate is £129.78 per child each week. Campaign group Mothers at Home Matter demanded ministers act quickly to introduce a transferable tax allowance for married couples.