The Costs And Rewards Of Raising Children Today

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[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.

[ConservativeStLouisGuy]

My point? WHY DO PEOPLE WITH CHILDREN ALWAYS HAVE TO PROVE HOW GREAT IT IS, HMM?

ANOTHER Mr. Burns on this thread? :-)

"Is the glass half-full or half-empty?"....betcha I know which one of those you side with. :-)

[durasell]

"Is the glass half-full or half-empty?"


The glass is obviously over-engineered for the amount of water it needs to hold.

[ConservativeStLouisGuy]

Probably for the same reason people without children try so hard to prove how great it is without them.

Good come-backer! As Meatloaf used to say, "....you took the words right out of my mouth"....

[Carolinamom]

A hearty a-men from this mother of 5.

[ConservativeStLouisGuy]

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

AMEN, AMEN TO THAT!

My parents were the same way -- stern and yet knowing when to let us go out on our own, make our own mistakes and grow from them....

[ConservativeStLouisGuy]

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.

To you "nattering naybobs of negativism".... :-) ....I believe the real thrust of this article was to point out that there ARE MORE IMPORTANT things than money in this world -- namely the nuturing and caring for other God-given souls....

[ConservativeStLouisGuy]

Works out to about $8,900/year for the 18 years and the gov keeps FSIC, right?

Something like that....

[ConservativeStLouisGuy]

(See post #26.....)

[durasell]

There are some people who are simply not cut out to be parents. As previously noted on numerous threads, it's a tough job. So it should come as no surprise that some people do not want to undertake it. And, if by chance they do undertake, then they end up making not only their own lives miserable, but making the kids miserable as well.

Let's get real, some people do not want butterfly kisses and giggles under the blankets. They want plasma screen televisions and to see Venice.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Probably for the same reason people without children try so hard to prove how great it is without them.

Ooooo. That's gonna leave a mark.     =;^)

[ConservativeStLouisGuy]

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.

Sure, everyone wishes they had more money -- after all, when they say "money is the root of all evil" it is a fact that money DOES pay the rent, mortgage and college education....yours was a very insightful reply....your family sounds a LOT like mine (I am one of five children) when we were growing up....

[ConservativeStLouisGuy]

I have six.

I pity those who count the cost.

I come from a family of 7....you are right -- there is NO COST that one can put on life, whether it involves the lives of family and friends living or the the lives of family and friends who have died....that is one thing I have never quite understood -- why SO MUCH money was distributed to the survivors of the 9/11 families....how come their family members' lives were worth more than, say, other people who lost family members under more less-than-public circumstances....

[ConservativeStLouisGuy]

Hmmmmm....still LOOKS like a HALF-FULL glass to me.... :-)

[ConservativeStLouisGuy]

Let's get real, some people do not want butterfly kisses and giggles under the blankets. They want plasma screen televisions and to see Venice.



I PITY THE FOOLS!!

[Gabz]

WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!

[Rhiannon]

I try. However when we are so nice to our children when they are young, often sets them to that continuing expectation when the behavior does not warrant such kindness. I am trying to get thru to my son that he is reaching the limit of goodwill. That if he asks me for something he better behave and speak better all the time otherwise the answer will be no.In otherwords, making him aware that his behavior and rudeness has consequences.

I know that this is a phase and we will grow past it. Just the young man's teterone and I am God complex. They think they don't have to do what you say and will speak back. Then get all upset when you dare to correct them and withdraw priveledges. Does not make a serene household. But with consistentancy, even the toughest mind will learn good manners are necessary, even to parents.

[ConservativeStLouisGuy]

I know that this is a phase and we will grow past it. Just the young man's teterone and I am God complex. They think they don't have to do what you say and will speak back. Then get all upset when you dare to correct them and withdraw priveledges. Does not make a serene household. But with consistentancy, even the toughest mind will learn good manners are necessary, even to parents.

I went through the same phase when I was younger too -- I believe all kids and adolescents do...

You know, even those families where the whole family goes to church and all appears well (from the uneducated outside observer)....well....there is always something that we don't know about those situations too....it goes without saying that there are always "black sheep" in families that we just don't either see or hear about....everyone/everyone person/every parent has their crosses in life....and that is why they are called "crosses" -- as they gentle bear them as Christ bore our cross for our sins...

[frgoff]

The actual quote is: The LOVE of money is the root of all evil. Money itself is simply a tool.

[TXBSAFH]

My wife and I are expecting twins this summer, so we are starting down this road. It is a trip.

[durasell]

Some people are damaged beyond repair from their own childhoods. Some are emotionally unsuited for children for other reasons and incapable of either providing the kind of love a child needs or accepting the kind of love a child offers. I never question the decision of these people to remain childless.