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I have seen repeatedly the breakdown of the cost of raising a
child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed
this way. It's nice, really nice. 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. 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, or $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! |
| 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 jam. |
| A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building
sandcastles, and skipping down the sidewalk in the
pouring 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 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 the bike,
removing a splinter, filling the 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 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 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.
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. |
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