Toys, school uniforms, dance lessons; as most parents know, having kids is not cheap. But it's not only the years at home that are expensive. Today's parents are expecting to fund their kids well into their adult lives.

According to Standard Life research, over half of parents feel it is "their duty as a parent" to financially support their grown up children.

In a survey of more than 2,000 adults, 37% of parents said they recognised the impact that the current economy was having on their kids' financial status.

A third of parents said they expected to contribute financially not only to their children but to any grandchildren.

Parents these days are pencilling in a number of costs on their kids' horizons, with 38% expecting to help pay the wedding bill, and more than one in three parents saying they expect to help meet the cost of university fees.

The fees might be sizeable enough, but a third of parents also expect to pay towards their children's university accommodation.

Just over a third (34%) pay towards their child's car or expect to do so and a quarter will be
likely to pay towards a deposit for a first home. Even a quarter are expected to help with mortgage and credit card debts.

Julie Russell, Head of Customer Relationships at Standard Life, commented: "The economic downturn and price increases have left many parents expecting to have to financially support their children into adulthood.

"The only way to achieve this is through careful financial planning, so that the financial
sacrifices parents make for their grown up children are not to the significant detriment of their own long term plans.

"Parents need to make sure their money works as hard for them as they are working for their
children. That means being efficient with their savings and making the most of tax breaks offered by products like ISAs and pensions."

Standard Life has this financial advice:

Pensions are a tax efficient way for parents to save, with every £4 a person contributes, the government effectively contributes £1 as it rebates the income tax on contributions.

For those who are in a workplace scheme, their employer is likely to be topping up the contributions too.

ISAs help to build up a tax free cash lump sum which can be used to pay for a child's wedding or to fund university fees. Parents can invest up to half of the annual ISA allowance and earmark that to help themselves and their children with more immediate costs.

They can also consider investing the remainder of their allowance in a stocks and shares ISA which has the potential of greater tax efficient growth over the longer term to help with larger future costs.