I rec'd this in my email today and thought I'd share.
It made me a little teary eyed.
The Price of Children
This is just too good. Something absolutely positive for a change. 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.
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.
* 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,
* watch Saturday morning cartoons,
* go to Disney movies, and
* wish 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 or pizza 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. That is quite a deal for the price!!
I've read this before and it still makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
As a survivor of child abuse, I have received a second chance at a happy childhood from my kids. I see the world through their eyes and celebrate and learn and believe in magic.
This was awesome-makes me glad to be a mom and right all the wrongs that we had done to us as children. Each child gives you the chance to be a better person yourself. Each new child you get to do a "do over" on yourself and your life. Isn't this what we all see about being a parent?
Aww, thanks for posting this! I'm a new mom to a 2-month old baby and I'm so overjoyed that I get to experience all these things with him and watch him grow up. I tried to conceive for a really long time, so my baby is a little miracle and he came after I thought I may never be a mommy.
Children are priceless
