THE COSTS AND REWARDS OF
RAISING CHILDREN TODAY
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The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 (US) 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 had.
WHAT EXACTLY 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 wonders over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
A hand to hold, often sticky with jelly, or peanut butter.
A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sandcastles, and skipping down the sidewalk in the pouring down 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, 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.
So, given all you get for your investment, the bottom line is:
Raising kids today is the smartest and most rewarding investment you will ever make and the dividends never stop coming.
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