Parents are set to spend £1.6bn on their children this summer, according to Halifax, the UK savings provider.

With the cost of entertaining children collectively reaching £160m per hour, Halifax added that parents who failed to plan their finances would be faced with bored children.

It claimed the cost of family days now totalled £125 for a family of four, and that parents needed sound financial plans to afford this.

Additionally, according to the Daycare Trust, for parents looking to put children into a play scheme, the weekly cost of a place for a child is £75, which rises to £455 to cover the six week length of the holidays. This means that parents considering this would have to put money aside to cover the cost.

Peter Jackson, head of banking and savings at Halifax, said: “The Summer holidays provides parents with precious time to spend with their children and enables them to make the most of fun days out together. However, parents can only relax and enjoy themselves if they have adequate financial plans in place.”

Halifax claimed that it offered a number of different options to help parents cope with increased summer spending, including its savings accounts, credit cards, and loans.