The Price of Children

[Roughneck]

My son sent me this recently. Thought I'd share

The Price of Children



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 and a car.

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 $24.24 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?

* Naming rights. First, middle, and last! Nicknames, too!
* 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 jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.
*Someone waiting for you with a beaming smile ear to ear when you walk through the door after a hard day's
work. You immediately think to yourself, "Wow, nobody is ever that happy to see me."

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. (Don't forget the Tooth Fairy, too).

You have an excuse to:

* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* watching Saturday morning cartoons,
*pretend you're a Power Ranger, play pirates and sword fights
*have tea parties every day
* 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, handprints 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 a bike,
* removing a splinter,
* filling a wading pool,
* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs,

And coaching a baseball team thatnever 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 piano recital
* 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 and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, 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, 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, like you, will love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!

$160,140.00...so that's where all my money went!

cheers,

 

[jibbijib]

That's excellent! Brought a smile to my face.

 

[dave_rhino]

That was pretty cool.

Sadly, I will never agree to having kids. But I can understand why other people would.

 

[slowhand]

I like it.



I cant wait to have kids some day. :thumbsup:

 

[Red Spyder]

After having recently ended a relationship that I thought would have ended in that (she was the one that ended it), and me looking forward to it, now I'm reading what I'll be missing

 

[member006]

That was a great "feel good read". Thank you RN.

 

[holdol]

Worth every dime!!!

Thanks RN

 

[Torre82]

Err, my reponse falls on the side of reality for many. Noone was there to witness many of my/my siblings/parents/many friends *firsts* or cared too much about the rest. The topic title actually made me think of Angelina Jolie's many purchases from overseas. Hint. Hint.

But hey, enjoy your greeting card in electronic form, there.

 

[Calm]

Pretty cheesy if you ask me. It leaves out all the time you have to fight with your kids, all the headaches, heartaches and the fact the stress shortens your life by at least 10 years.
I don't have any kids of my own but I am 13 years older than my youngest sister so I pretty much helped my parents raise her so I know.

Judging by the title, I actually thought this thread will be about child slavery or something, parents in the far east or africa selling their kids or whatever.

 

[ckjedi66]

Pretty cheesy if you ask me. It leaves out all the time you have to fight with your kids, all the headaches, heartaches and the fact the stress shortens your life by at least 10 years.
I don't have any kids of my own but I am 13 years older than my youngest sister so I pretty much helped my parents raise her so I know.

But you don't really know, because you HELPED to raise her (and i don't mean to degrade your contribution to raising your sister), and helping to raise a child is way different from raising one from birth on your own as a parent, you see things differently because you are not her parent, you are her brother, I can't explain how it's just different. As far as headaches, stress, fighting, & whatever, it's all how you look at things. There is nothing that beats the feelings that kids can give you, the bad , as far as I am concerned, is far outweighed by the good. Being a parent is a lifelong commitment, and is stressful to be sure. But anyone who doesn't know this from the start is going to have problems. You have to realize that for a long time your life is not yours, you need to dedicate it to those kids and if you can't do that, you shouldn't be a parent. My kids are the most important 3 people in my life (along with my g/f:lovecoupl ) and always will be, but sadly not a lot of parents can say that. I know being a praent is not for everyone, but as I said, it's rewarding in a way that can't be described, despite the stress and headaches and heartaches. All you can do is hope that what you have taught your children is enough to guide them into leading good lives for themselves, and help them and be there for them whenever they need you, no matter what.

 

[bigbadbrody]

And now you know why I will never ever ever have kids or even get married

JERRY: I had a very interesting lunch with George Costanza today.
KRAMER: Really?
JERRY: We were talking about our lives and we both kind of realized we're kids. We're not men.
KRAMER: So, then you asked yourselves, "Isn't there something more to life?"
JERRY: Yes. We did.
KRAMER: Yeah, well, let me clue you in on something. There isn't.
JERRY: There isn't?

KRAMER: Absolutely not. I mean, what are you thinking about, jerry? Marriage? Family?
JERRY: Well...
KRAMER: They're prisons. Man made prisons. You're doing time. You get up in the morning. She's there. You go to sleep at night. She's there. It's like you gotta ask permission to use the bathroom. Is it all right if I use the bathroom now?
JERRY: Really?
KRAMER: Yeah, and you can forget about watching TV while you're eating.
JERRY: I can?
KRAMER: Oh, yeah. You know why? Because it's dinner time. And you know what you do at dinner?
JERRY: What?
KRAMER: You talk about your day. How was your day today? Did you have a good day today or a bad day today? Well, what kind of day was it? Well, I don't know. How about you? How was your day?

JERRY: Boy.
KRAMER: It's sad , Jerry. It's a sad state of affairs..
JERRY: I'm glad we had this talk.
KRAMER: Oh, you have no idea.

Check out this link
http://youtube.com/watch?v=pSWTVXh_Yns

 

[Calm]

And now you know why I will never ever ever have kids or even get married



Check out this link
http://youtube.com/watch?v=pSWTVXh_Yns

Best show ever.

 

[Christmas_Ape]

Pretty cheesy if you ask me.

Yeah, he probably meant to post this on the LifeTime for women board, not a porn site message board.

 

[bigbadbrody]

Best show ever.

Actually that was the second time I posted that video link at freeones, and one of the many many times I referred to the show

 

[ckjedi66]

Damn BBB, i feel bad for you if you feel like relationships and/or being a parent is like being in a prison, because i am a parent of three and am in a relationship and i don't have a feeling like that at all. I don't need to ask anyone's permission to do things, and I am certainlly glad that she is there every morning We both like to watch TV while we are eating, i NEVER need to ask to go to the bathroom. I understand that whole Seinfeld exchange is a tad exagerrated. but still, relationships are not like that, not if you don't want them to be. A relationship and being a parent is what YOU make it, not anyone else. I hope you can find some happiness, at least in a relationship someday.

 

[holdol]

It leaves out all the time you have to fight with your kids, all the headaches.

Again, worth every dime! :2 cents:

Plus alot gray hairs just to add some character.

 

[bigbadbrody]

Damn BBB, i feel bad for you if you feel like relationships and/or being a parent is like being in a prison, because i am a parent of three and am in a relationship and i don't have a feeling like that at all. I don't need to ask anyone's permission to do things, and I am certainlly glad that she is there every morning We both like to watch TV while we are eating, i NEVER need to ask to go to the bathroom. I understand that whole Seinfeld exchange is a tad exagerrated. but still, relationships are not like that, not if you don't want them to be. A relationship and being a parent is what YOU make it, not anyone else. I hope you can find some happiness, at least in a relationship someday.

Maybe it is all the bad luck I have had or all the one night stands I have had, or both, but I have sworn of marriage and kids for ever

 

[dave_rhino]

The reason I've sworn to never have kids is:

1) I never want to be tied down to my life. If I have kids/marriage, I can never one day decide to just fly off somewhere and go on adventures. Because you need to stay put and look after your family when you have one.

2) I don't believe I could ever afford it

3) How can you want to raise kids into a world so full of war and corruption? Just seems a little harsh to me. Maybe if times were differen't, i'd be ok with it.

 

[alexios]

I've always been told that the white ones will fetch more on the black market.

 

[dave_rhino]

Hmm I wonder if anyone will be offended by that comment...