The Price of having children . . .

The Price of having children . . .

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 university education. For those with kids, that figure leads to wild fantasies about all the money we could have banked if not for (insert your child's name here). For others, that number might confirm the decision to remain childless.

But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:
$8,896.66 a year
$741.38 a month
$171.08 a week
That's a mere $24.44 a day!
Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice says don't have children if you want to be "rich". It is just the opposite. What do your get for your $160,140?

Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
A hand to hold, usually covered with jam.
A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sandcastles, and skipping down the footpath in the pouring rain.
Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your shares performed that day.

For $160,140, you never have to grow up.

You get to finger-paint, play hide-and-seek, catch tadpoles 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 make Christmas mobiles, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.
More love than your heart can hold.

For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero justfor retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof, taking the training wheels off the bike, removing a splinter, filling the paddling pool, coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a soccer 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 bra, 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. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications,and human sexuality that no college can match. In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there with God, Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. 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, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost!



HAVING said all that - I can wait a few years before Grandchildren arrive . . . .
What other reason can you add to make it a relative worthwhile expense????