For just a dollar an hour! It's true.

AK - Jeff

The Price of Children
[This is just too good not to pass on to all.
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 $160,140.00
for a middle income family. Talk about price shock!
That doesn't even touch college tuition.

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 $24.24 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 $160,140.00?

* 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 jelly or
chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.
* 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,
* 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 a mere $24.24 a day, 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 in 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!!!!!!!

Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren &
great-grandchildren !!!!!!!
It's the best investment you'll ever make.

juni

Thank you Jeff for posting this!!!!

I certainly agree - it's the hardest job you'll ever have, but brings rewards throughout your life.

And grandkids are the icing on the cake!!

Juni

AuldSoul

* first step,
* first word,
* first bra,
* first date,
* first time behind the wheel,
* first time arrested,
* first time finding drugs in the speakers...

And all this could be yours whether you have a daughter or a son!

Just kidding, AK-Jeff! That was really a precious post. I really believe that if parents truly value those things their "dollar an hour" has bought, aberrant and rebelious outcomes are much less likely.

Respectfully,
AuldSoul

Gill

Love it!!

Thanks

Mary

Wonderful post Jeff. Thanks.

GoingGoingGone

This was awesome!

My son is currently writing college application essays for his English class in high school. I proof read them for him, and both of the essays were all about the importance of family and how much he appreciated his. It brought tears to my eyes!

Great post!

GGG

hambeak

Wonderful post Jeff you must have a terrific family I am sure you are envied by quite a few here. You should publish that piece in a paper it is very uplifting. AS is right if more parents and grandparents were involved in kids lives a lot less of the youthful crime we see so prevalent.

stillconcerned

I can't imagine who i would be, without the birth of my daughter.

She grew me up, and stretchs and deepens me, like nothing else.

I am not the same person i was, because of her.

She is AMAZING.

kitten whiskers

Thank you for this. It puts so many feeling into words. lol at the "criminal justice " part! I immediately pictured the kids arguing with the neighbor kids last night and having to "Police" the situation! A truly beautiful piece of work. I loved the "glimpses of God everyday and giggles under the covers" Kitten Whiskers

AK - Jeff

You should publish that piece in a paper it is very uplifting.

Thanx hambeak - but alas it is not mine. It was anonymous when I saw it and just loved it. I couldn't credit it since I don't know who wrote it. But it lifted me and I just wanted to share it.

Jeff

For just a dollar an hour! It's true.

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