Food prices continue to rise due to soaring raw material prices and the rapid depreciation of the yen, but the impact is also affecting children's products.



Powdered milk, paper diapers, and even toys that are necessary for raising children.



Many products will be raised in price from October, and it is likely that the burden on households raising children will increase further.

We have summarized the main products that will be raised and their impact.

Stock up at children's goods stores

I visited a children's goods store in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward to interview families raising children.



On the 29th, some people bought powdered milk in bulk for about two months, for which a future price increase was announced.

A 35-year-old mother who visited with a 1-year-old girl


"I usually buy when I'm almost out of stock, but when I heard that the price was going up, I came to stock up.



A 28-year-old mother who visited with her 3-month-old boy said,

"


I can't afford to cut back on things for my baby, so I'm putting up with eating out and eating out. Considering the situation, I don't think there's anything we can do to raise the price, but it would be helpful if we could get subsidies from the national and ward governments."

Child-related products that are being raised in price

What are some child-related products that have already increased or are scheduled to increase in price from September to November?

[Powdered milk] 4-12% price increase

Megmilk Snow Brand from 5.3% to 5.7% from October


1, Bean Stark Snow Brand from 4.8% to 7% from October 1,


Meiji from 7.4% to 7.5%


in November Asahi Group Foods, including powdered milk and baby food from November We will increase the price of baby products by 4% to 12%.

[Confectionery] 3 to 24% price increase

From late August to October 1, Ezaki Glico will increase the shipping price of 157 items such as "Pocky" by 3% to 24%, while


Lotte will increase the shipping price of 71 products such as gum and gummies by 4% to 17%. increase.


In addition, Calbee will raise the price of 30 items such as "Kappa Ebisen" from November 1st, and the increase is expected to be about 10% to 20% at the store price.

[Stationery] Prices increased by an average of 16.5% or 10 to 700 yen

From October 1st, Tombow Pencil will increase the price of 259 items such as colored pencils and pencils for lower elementary school students by an average of 16.5%


, but from October 1st, 9 items such as colored pencils for elementary school students will be raised from 10 yen to 700 yen. .

[Toys] Average price increase of 10.4% or about 5,000 yen

Takara Tomy will start September 1st with 331 items such as minicar "Tomica", railroad model "Plarail", and board game "life game" on average 10.4%



Sony Interactive Entertainment for home use from September 15th The game machine "PlayStation 5" has already been raised by 5500 yen.

Also, from October 1st, Bandai plans to raise the price of popular character "soft vinyl dolls" by 110 yen, and up to 5,000 yen for popular anime educational toys.

[Disposable diapers] Prices have already been raised since early spring

In addition, each manufacturer has already raised the price of disposable diapers and other products from early spring.

“Painful” price increases for children

With the price of toys rising one after another, some said that they hesitated to buy at toy stores in Tokyo.



At a toy store in Meguro-ku, Tokyo, many of the manufacturers with whom we do business have raised prices one after another since around June this year, and it is said that the price of the products in the store has increased by about 40% compared to the beginning of this year. That's it.



In October, the price of Ultraman series "soft vinyl dolls" was scheduled to be raised by nearly 100 yen, and the store manager posted a paper near the product notifying of the price increase from October.

A mother who was visiting the store with her elementary school son,


"Sometimes I'm hesitant to buy when I think about my budget."



A fifth-grade boy who collects the Ultraman series


. I want to put up with buying sweets and continue to collect them.”



Natsuko Yoshida, store manager of Omocha no Mummy


“The 50 or 100 yen price increases are a lot of money for children, so there are children who didn’t know about the price increase and brought only the amount that was just right for the price. I also couldn't buy toys.It hurts my heart."

``The amount of the burden on households is at the level before the free kindergarten and nursery school''

There is also data showing that price increases are putting a strain on the budgets of households raising children.



In a survey conducted in August by a major insurance company among men and women with children between the ages of 0 and 6, 85.2% of respondents said they feel burdened by the cost of raising children due to high prices.



Experts who conducted the study said this trend will continue.

Yuichi Kodama, Fellow Chief Economist of Meiji Yasuda Research Institute,


"The burden on child-rearing households has decreased with the introduction of free nursery schools and kindergartens since 2019, but with the successive rises in prices, the burden on households has returned to the level before the introduction of free services. Since the effects of the yen's depreciation are reflected in retail prices with a time lag, there is a risk that the upward trend in prices will continue for at least half a year or longer, prompting smarter household budget management, such as choosing the cheaper option even for similar products. will be needed