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FW: The Price of a Child

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The Price of a Child

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 things you could have

bought, all the places you could have traveled, all the money you

could have banked, if not for your child. 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's just the opposite!

There's no way to put a price tag on:

* Feeling a new life move for the first time and seeing the bump of a

knee rippling across your skin.

* Having someone cry, " It's a boy! " or shout, " It's a girl! " then

hearing the baby wail and knowing all that matters is it's healthy.

* Counting all 10 fingers and toes for the first time.

* Feeling the warmth of fat cheeks against your breast.

* Cupping an entire head in the palm of your hand.

* Making out " DA-DA " or " MA-MA " from all the cooing and gurgling.

What do you get for your $160,140?

* Naming rights. First, middle and last.

* 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 movies and

wishing on stars.

* You get to frame rainbows, hearts and flowers under refrigerator

magnets and collect spray-painted noodle wreaths for Christmas,

and prints set in clay for Mother's Day and cards with backward

letters for Father's Day.

For $160,140:

* 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 witness the first step, first word,

first bra, first date, 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 no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you can do anything. You have the power to

heal a boo-boo, scare away 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.

This week, remember and enjoy the return(s) on your investment!

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