Today is Tuesday, January 13th, 2004; Karen's Korner #217

Got this recently from my sister, Eileen; thought it was good  And since we get to add on "grandparents" to our resume within the month.........!

 


THE COST OF RAISING A CHILD - ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE


The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth
to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 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 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 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 everyday.

* Giggles and outright, deep belly, flat out infectious laughter more times
than one would ever believe. More love than your heart can hold.

* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.

* Endless wonder and pleasure over the simple things: rocks, ants, clouds,
and warm cookies.

* A hand to hold.

* A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sand castles, 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 can live through your childhood again; You get to
finger-paint, carve pumpkins, play hide-and-seek, catch lightning bugs, and
believe in Santa Claus for a while again.

*You have an excuse to keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
watching Saturday morning cartoons, going to DisneyLand, 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, kissing a hurt, filling a wading
pool, 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 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.  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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