The Cost of Kids

 

                             The Cost of Kids

                              I have repeatedly seen 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 $160,140.00 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 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 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 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 Land, 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 a
                              wading 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 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 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 booboo, 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.

                              ENJOY YOUR KIDS AND GRANDKIDS!