Subject: THE COST OF A CHILD

> The Cost of a Child
> 
>  The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from
>  birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 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 we could have bought, all the places we could have traveled, all
>  the money we could have banked if not for Hayden.
>  For others, that number might confirm the decision to remain childless.
> 
>  But $160,140.00 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 dada or mama from all the
> cooing and gurgling.
> 
>  What do you get for your $160,140.00?
>  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 $160,140.00, 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 $160,140.00, there's 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 sliver, 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 history; 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 rank right up there with God.
>  
> 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.