The Cost of Raising Children

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 periodically releases 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 sand castles 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 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 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 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 will like you,
love without counting the cost.
All of this and more for just about one dollar per hour,
what a bargain!