New rules concerning child benefits have left a lot of parents very confused as to what they're entitled to. According to the Mirror, nearly half of parents in the UK (49%) are completely baffled with hundreds of thousands of people not bothering with the money they are owed.

This is thanks, in part, to the governments do-it-yourself system, and according to the HMRC, 491,695 families are no longer claiming benefit. The government have not made it easier for parents, and cynics may wonder if this was completely intentional.

Well, if you think you should be getting some, and aren't, here's a little help for you.

You could be getting child benefit to the tune of £1,076 a year for your first child, and £712.40 a year for every additional child you have. Anyone with kids under the age of 16 (or under 20 if they're still in education) is eligible. Now, if you earn over a certain amount, you might have to pay some of the claim back, but we'll get to that.

Firstly, you'll need to see if you're eligible for such a claim, and you can learn about that, here. If you think you are, then you'll need to fill in a claims form, which you can find here.

If you have one parent in the house who earns more than who earns more than £50,000 a year, you'll have to pay part of the benefit back at the end of the year. If one parent earns more than £60,000, you'll have to pay the entire sum back.

You'll need to work out how much your owe, which you can do with an online calculator, which you can find here. There'll then be a self-assessment form that you'll need to complete.

It is absolutely worth having a look at this, because you could be helped out if you need to buy your child clothes or educational materials. It looks daunting, but if you complete the claims form first, you can worry about the rest at a later date. Don't miss out on what is rightfully yours.