The Cost of Raising a Child

[Merika]

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a
child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a
middle income family. Talk about sticker shock! That
doesn't even touch college tuition.

But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It
translates into:
* $8,896.66 a year,

* $741.38 a month, or

* $171.08 a week.

* That's a mere $24.24 a day!
* Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is don't
have children if you want to be "rich." Actually, it is
just the opposite.

What 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 wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.

* A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate.

* A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites.

* 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 and collect spray painted noodle
wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's
Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck. You
get to be a hero just for:

* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,

* taking the training wheels off a bike,

* removing a splinter,

* filling a wading pool,

* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a
baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to
ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat to history to witness the

* first step,

* first word,

* first date, and

* first time behind the wheel.
You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to
your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs
in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren.

You get an education in:
psychology,
nursing,
communications,
human sexuality that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You
have all the power to:
heal a boo-boo,
scare away the monsters under the bed,
patch a broken heart,
police a slumber party,
love them without limits,
So one day they will like you, love without counting the cost.

That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!

Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren!

[Adonaicole]

I agree with you totally. All you parents, thank God for the children you have, they are the greatest blessing in the world, the gift that keeps on giving. My son is a handful and expensive to boot, but when I'm tired he cuts me some slack, when I'm sad, he makes me laugh, when I'm lonely, he finds me a girlfriend. He's constantly telling me that he loves me and that I'm the best dad in the world (how cool is that?). I wouldn't trade him for anything, he's my best bud.

[Vautrin]

One thing is not mentioned:

* the annoyance caused by parents who think their 5 year olds running around screaming in museums is the greatest blessing in the world for those around them. It is not! :evil: A lot of kids do behave, however.

[Duke]

I will not make a sweeping generalization here but I would say that many, if not most ill behaved children are a product of poor parenting. All kids misbehave at one time or another, it's how you parent them that decides on whether they worsen or get better.

A shining example is this:

My daughter and I went to dinner with another child and parent combo. Their child acted up the whole time at the restaurant, would not sit still, kept on fidgeting knowing she shouldn't have, ran around the table, and wouldn't eat her dinner. The parent was getting very livid with the child, threatening her at low volumes for a spanking and other punishment, and so on. After we all finished dinner (except the child), the parent actually offered her ice cream.

What did the child learn from this?

- it's ok to misbehave,
- it's ok not to listen,
- bad manners.

This is not an example of an exception, this is an example of what I believe is more the norm these days. I've never really noticed prior to becoming a parent but if you study the situation as an impartial outsider, you will see why misbehaving children misbehave.

If you have a naughty child who is under the age of 5 you have to ask yourself, is it me? Of course it is, who else do they see day in and day out other than you?

BTW, I thought that it now cost over $200,000 per child? I saw a number like that thrown out in a study a few years back but it could have included extras such as birthday presents, parties, additional rent/mortgages for rooms, etc.

[sweetbilly]

LOL i think you listed everything in the book. I think it's a lovely thought Merika.

[Merika]

Originally Posted by sweetbilly

LOL i think you listed everything in the book. I think it's a lovely thought Merika.

HAHA...I didn't WRITE it Billy....I just pasted it in from an email.