The Cost of A Child

This is just too good not to share!

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.

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.

ut $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 $24.24 a day! Just over a dollar an hour. Still, you might think the best financial advice is don't have children if you want to be "rich."

Actually, it is just the opposite. What do you get for your $160,140?
Let's look - -

Naming rights - First, middle, and last!

Glimpses of God every day.

Giggles under the covers every night.

More love than you ever dreamed your heart could hold.

Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.

Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.

A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate.

A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites and making snow angels.

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,

cuddle under the covers on a stormy night,

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 on 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 a bike,

removing a splinter,

filling a 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 a little bit immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, logistics, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match. In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God.

You have all the power to:

heal a boo-boo with a kiss,

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. That is actually quite a deal!