The Price of Children: Breakdown VS. Rewards

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 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 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!
-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, 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
-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 Fri*****ee 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 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, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human
sexuality that no college can match. In the eyes of a child, you rank
right 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!!!!!!!

Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren!!!!!!!

Each new day brings special things.