You sure your name isn't Mr. Burns? :-)
Posted on 01/08/2005 11:04:14 AM PST by ConservativeStLouisGuy
The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 (US) for a middle-income family.
Talk about sticker shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition. For those with kids, that figure leads to wild fantasies about all the things we could have had.
WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU GET FOR YOUR $160,140?
Naming rights. First, Middle and last.
Glimpses of God every day.
Giggles under the covers every night.
More love than your heart can hold.
Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
Endless wonders over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
A hand to hold, often sticky with jelly, or peanut butter.
A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sandcastles, and skipping down the sidewalk in the pouring down rain.
Someone to laugh yourself silly with no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.
For $160,140, you NEVER have to grow up.
You get to finger-paint, carve pumpkins, play hide-and-seek, catch lightning bugs, and never stop believing in Santa Claus.
You have an excuse to keep reading the adventures of Piglet and Pooh, watching Saturday morning cartoons, going to Disney movies and wishing on stars.
You get to frame rainbows, hearts and flowers under refrigerator magnets, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost.
So, given all you get for your investment, the bottom line is:
Raising kids today is the smartest and most rewarding investment you will ever make and the dividends never stop coming.
Must be talking about young children, when they become teenagers , you start questioning whether if any expense is worth it, when they are disrespectful, rebellious and arguementative.
I have just figured out why parents have heart attacks at this age. It because they have teenagers the specialize in enraging their parents.
You forgot:
An eager retriever of launched model rockets
A good excuse to buy all the toys you wanted as a kid
An excellent source of your daily requirement of laughter
My point? WHY DO PEOPLE WITH CHILDREN ALWAYS HAVE TO PROVE HOW GREAT IT IS, HMM?
"WHY DO PEOPLE WITH CHILDREN ALWAYS HAVE TO PROVE HOW GREAT IT IS, HMM?"
Probably for the same reason people without children try so hard to prove how great it is without them.
Teenagers are not that hard to handle if you have established a good relationship during their formative years. We told ours that they were now old enough to make their own decisions (as they were doing that anyway) so they were also old enough to be responsible for them. I told my son he could do anything that he wanted....but if he got in trouble he was on his own. He had fun - is still having fun in his young 30's - no trouble - worked for me.
Arch
Great comeback.
Nag Note: divide $160,140 and you get the hourly equivalent of a full-time worker at minimum wage after taxes; IOW some people either do it for less or it can't be done, which is probably the thrust behind this piece.
Works out to about $8,900/year for the 18 years and the gov keeps FSIC, right?
How can anyone with more than two brain molecules possibly believe this?
How can you live in the United States that abounds in millions of low and middle income families - most with two or more kids - who will clearly never spend that on raising their kids because they can't afford to......and buy this BS?
And since when has ANY prediction of cost determined by the government been even remotely right?
Dear God. I need 3/4 of a million dollars.........
Wow, how much will it be to raise my 6 kids?
We shop in thrift stores.
The only new stuff they get is socks and undies.
We buy food from bent and dent grocers when possible.
We do not all go to the movies each time something comes out. We wait for the $4.00 DVD at Blockbuster.
We do not overindulge or overspend.
The kids play together and enjoy each other.
We pray, love, forgive, and keep going.
We don't own a brand new vehicle or live in a beautiful new home. But the home is filled with immense and intense love. The van we do have gets us where we need to go.
Each child is so immensely talented. My oldest is an artist and wants to go into graphic design. My second has an exceptional voice and loves banking and cooking. My third wants to be a scientist in genetic engineering. My fourth is going to be a writer and missionary. My fifth is also a budding little "artist girl." My youngest is a natural ballerina and way prettier than Shirley Temple ever was.
I do not hate money, I acutally wish we had more of it, but the heart of a family is not engendered in the bank.
pinged again
Dear God,
Thanks for providing our needs.
I pity those who count the cost.
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