The Price of Children

[apackof2]

I am not a parent ( but I am a "dog mom" )
However I know this is true!

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 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,

* 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 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!!!!!!!

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

[apackof2]

I am not a parent ( but I am a "dog mom" )
However I know this is true!

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 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,

* 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 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!!!!!!!

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

["007"]

Thank you Joanie for reminding us of the value of our children thru the years.
We have had over 60 children the past 31 years thru foster care. Three we adopted and gardianship of 4. Many that were with us for 1 or 2 years than back to parents that still could not handle them after being OK with us.
We had some that would run and come back in hospitals or programs repletedly, why you ask, all to do with abuse they received from parents boy friends of mothers and what ever.
We even had to get lawyers help to keep a child when the state lost custody of a child.
My wife was in control in the early years than I retired when we adopted twins 19 years ago. At that time we had 9 girls.
Many trips to Mickeys House and trips around this U.S.A. & Canada.
We had some sad times also loosing girls at 30 and 19.
The times they had with our family were happy and a rewarding part of their life its just that the past early years would overwhelm them.
They say we are to old now to help but there are so many still in need of help, it would be easy to be a big brother or sister to them.
We do recieve visits from some that were here 20 or 30 years ago so they do keep in touch.
Thanks again for reminding us of the great value we have had.

[apackof2]

You have been a blessing and in turn have been blessed in serving

Thank you



<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by "007":
Thank you Joanie for reminding us of the value of our children thru the years.
We have had over 60 children the past 31 years thru foster care. Three we adopted and gardianship of 4. Many that were with us for 1 or 2 years than back to parents that still could not handle them after being OK with us.
We had some that would run and come back in hospitals or programs repletedly, why you ask, all to do with abuse they received from parents boy friends of mothers and what ever.
We even had to get lawyers help to keep a child when the state lost custody of a child.
My wife was in control in the early years than I retired when we adopted twins 19 years ago. At that time we had 9 girls.
Many trips to Mickeys House and trips around this U.S.A. & Canada.
We had some sad times also loosing girls at 30 and 19.
The times they had with our family were happy and a rewarding part of their life its just that the past early years would overwhelm them.
They say we are to old now to help but there are so many still in need of help, it would be easy to be a big brother or sister to them.
We do recieve visits from some that were here 20 or 30 years ago so they do keep in touch.
Thanks again for reminding us of the great value we have had. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[TXiceman]

We just have one daughter, son in law and two grandkids and they are all worth a lot more than that to us. Best thing I can think of recently is when the grandkid grabs the phone from his Mon and yells "Hi, Paw-paw!"

kEN