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]

THAT'S GOOD NEWS!
THAT'S GOOD NEWS!

(said twice for twins) :-)

[ConservativeStLouisGuy]

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

[ConservativeStLouisGuy]

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.

Your point is well-taken....bye-and-bye, are you married with children? My wife and I have been married for over 1-1/2 years and have not been (yet) able to have children.....so....that's where I'm coming from on this subject...

[patton]

Huh? Christopher cost in excess of $100,000 dollars before he was three months old. Heck, he took a helicopter ride that was $16k.

He is now 10, and only more expensive.

Estimate seems low to me.

[Iron Eagle]

well -- it may not be all that ridiculous, really. Of course, most of the numbers are averages and percentages. And, if one thinks of the 8,900 per-child only as cash transactions specific to a child, it is less likely. But, built into that cost are cloths, groceries, diapers, health care, a portion of housing costs, vacations, tuition/registration, automobiles, phones, TV's entertainment. Heck -- the cost of my health care for a family plan is 400 more per-month than it would be if I had no kids -- that's 4,800 dollars right there.

[durasell]

Apologies, I don't answer personal questions online...

I only wrote that because I've seen enough kids brought into a world where they had to deal with damaged parents. The whole sweetness and light bit of butterfly kisses and giggles is fine, but there are hard realities when it comes to kids. And not nearly enough people consider those realities.

[ConservativeStLouisGuy]

Apologies, I don't answer personal questions online...

There is a "Private Reply" button, if you'd like to go that route....

[ConservativeStLouisGuy]

Apologies, I don't answer personal questions online...

There is a "Private Reply" button, if you'd like to go that route....

[ConservativeStLouisGuy]

Dang, I think I hear an echo in here....

[patton]

Besides which, the correct engineering answer is, "Well, this side of the glass is obviously the wrong size."

[Lizavetta]

There a million ways to cut costs from thrift stores to cheap vacations to no tuitions to no cell phones to no cable, etc. etc.

Of course that 160K figure can easily be met if one wants to. I was only saying that it is not in any way, shape or form necessary or inevitable to spend that much. You can look around you and see plainly that plenty of people are not spending that and ARE raising kids on much less.

[Conservatrix]

I hate to be corrective, but the Scipture says that the LOVE of money is the root of all evil, not money itself...


Which backs up your point.

[PaRebel]

It is typical of the government to reduce somethng as fundamental as a child to dollars and cents! It simply cannot be done. To see how feckless the government accountants are, I would like to see the breakdown of the sum.

[ConservativeStLouisGuy]

I hate to be corrective, but the Scipture says that the LOVE of money is the root of all evil, not money itself...

Which backs up your point.

(See posts #38 and #42.)