£175 a month is far too much money to be paying for your child i have a 8 year old and i pay this same amount for mine, i had looked after mine for 6 months as my ex travelled abroad and i can assure you that i spent no where near £175 a month in that time which i bought various clothes shoes school uniform. My daughter does not have a TV in her bedroom nor does she have a computer or anything, if she wants to play she goes outside to play with the other kids her age, if its raining we stay in and play together things like Monopoly etc. The difference is most partners just want the money to pay for things themselves, can they honestly say that every penny they get is spent wisely on the child?
People over estimate things like "oh i pay rent for my daughter/electricity etc etc" what a load of crap you pay for those items anyway you do not take them into account.
Plus if i put in £175 a month then surely so should the mother? Which means that an 8 year old uses £350 a month?