Summer means new clothes, bikes, strollers and more. How will tariffs impact parents?

Summer 2025 is shaping up to be an expensive season, especially for parents.

Sweeping tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump − which economists say could lead to a recession and even higher inflation to come − mean price hikes for new clothes, toys, bikes, strollers and more.

The tariffs will hit low-income households hardest. But Trump has remained steadfast in his decision, telling reporters on Sunday that "sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something." The trade war escalated further Tuesday, with Trump promising 104% tariffs on goods imported from China.

Being a parent was already pricey. The U.S. Department of Agriculture last calculated the average cost of raising a child at more than $233,000 for children born in 2015. That's roughly $13,000 annually in 2015 dollars, or more than $17,000 today. Other reports say it's much higher. LendingTree's latest study found the annual costs associated with raising a child are just shy of $30,000, up more than 35% since their last report in 2023.

With new tariffs, the Yale Budget Lab predicts the average household will lose an additional $3,800 this year, with some of the highest tariffs impacting the food and clothing industries.

In January, 1 in 8 moms said they were concerned about rising costs due to tariffs, according to a BabyCenter poll. Lauren LaCross, a senior research analyst at BabyCenter, said more mothers were concerned about the already high cost of daily goods and inflation. Some moms added that they were worried about "economic implications of government changes" and "risk of recession."

Price increases due to tariffs will be "practically unavoidable," said Emily Gee, senior vice president of inclusive growth at the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning policy and advocacy think tank.

“Families can expect to pay a lot more for almost everything they can buy," she said.

Adam Hersh, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, even described the impending tariffs as "traumatizing" for parents. The institute is another left-leaning nonprofit think tank that researches the impact of economic trends and policies on working people in the U.S.

"It's going to be hard," Hersh said, especially since most Americans are "barely hanging on as it is."

Up to 50% price hikes on kids' clothes, sneakers and car seats

Food and clothing prices are disproportionately affected by tariffs, according to the Yale Budget Lab.

Children's clothing made in Asia could see up to 50% price increases due to tariffs, bringing $24 outfits up to $36. Kids' shoes and sporting equipment will likely see similar increases, Gee said. The Center for American Progress provided other examples of price increases:

• A soccer ball made in Pakistan priced at $18 could cost $23.
• Children's sneakers made in Vietnam priced at $52 could cost $76.
• A child's car seat made in China priced at $59 could cost $91.

Most toys in the U.S. come from China, said Steven Durlauf, a professor and director of the Stone Center for Research on Wealth Inequality and Mobility​ at University of Chicago. And he said food imports from Mexico make up a good amount of what families buy in U.S. grocery stores.

Car seats and cribs are largely manufactured in China, too. In February, Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association Executive Director Lisa Trofe wrote a letter to Trump explaining how detrimental tariffs could be on families with young children.

"The results can be devastating when American families are forced to rely on secondhand or older products that do not meet current safety standards," Trofe said in the letter. "Worse, American parents often will fill the gap with makeshift alternatives that create risks to their children, or they will even go without protective products at all if safe products are not affordable or easily accessible."

Some companies have posted notices warning customers that their product prices could increase due to tariffs, including Posh Baby, a store in Portland, Oregon, that sells children's apparel, toys, gear and other accessories.

Tariffs on clothes will likely have a higher impact on parents because children are constantly outgrowing their clothes and kids' higher activity levels mean they wear down clothes and shoes faster than adults. Kids grow into bigger-ticket items, too, Gee said, like when children transition from cribs to beds.

Families who tend to buy pricier, higher-quality items can avoid the price hikes this summer by substituting down to lower-quality clothes and other goods, Gee said.

“If you’re someone who’s already trying to make ends meet by being frugal and doing all of that comparison shopping and stretching your dollar, you are just going to have to eat that price increase," she said.

It's not just that items with import taxes that will get more expensive, Durlauf said. These tariffs will ripple through the economy, making everything pricier. He and Hersh predict families will have to rethink their priorities this summer, even reconsidering family vacations in order to pay for basic needs.

Low-income families will be hit hardest by tariffs

Summer is already an expensive time for families. Some kids who get free meals at school rely on their parents and caregivers for food over the summer. And parents who work full time need to find and pay for child care during the summer months.

Utility costs can go up in the summer, too, depending on the area. United Way Worldwide collected data from nearly 17 million 211 helpline calls in 2024 and found assistance with housing, utilities and food were the most common requests from families in the U.S., with utility assistance referrals up 12% since 2022.

So many Americans were already struggling to access affordable, nutritional food before the recent tariff announcements, said Angela Williams, president and CEO of United Way. She anticipates the number of families in need of support will increase as prices rise this spring and summer, especially if unemployment rates rise.

Government leaders and those in the private and nonprofit sectors will need to come together, Williams said, to put a safety net in place for low-income families who won't be able to pay for their basic needs as food and clothing prices rise.

Food assistance programs and advocates are sounding the alarm, too, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut more than $1 billion in funding for farmers to provide food to schools and food banks, and Trump made cuts to the department's Emergency Food Assistance Program.