> 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.
>
>
> 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
> 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 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 jam.
> A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building
> sandcastles, 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,
> -wishing on stars.
>
>
> You get to:
> -frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets
> -collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas
> -collect hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day
> -collect 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 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.
> 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.
>
>
> 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
> 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 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 jam.
> A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building
> sandcastles, 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,
> -wishing on stars.
>
>
> You get to:
> -frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets
> -collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas
> -collect hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day
> -collect 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 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.