THE COST OF RAISING A CHILD

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to

18, and for a middle-income family, came up with the figure $160,140--and

that doesn't even touch college tuition. Talk about sticker shock!

For those of us with kids, that figure leads to wild fantasies about all the

money we could have banked if not for our children. For others, that number

might confirm the decision to remain childless. But it really isn't so bad

if

you break it down. It translates to $8,896.66 a year, $741.38 a month, or

$171.08 a week. That's a mere $24.44 a day! Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is not to have kids, if you

want to be rich. It's just the opposite. You won't be rich money-wise, but

you'll be very wealthy nonetheless.

What do your 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 jam. A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sandcastles,

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 a perfect excuse to read about all 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 the bike, removing a splinter, filling the wading pool, coaxing a wad of

gum out of bangs, or coaching a baseball team that never wins, but always

gets treated to ice cream regardless. You get a front-row seat to

history--witnessing that 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--grandchildren.You get an education in psychology, nursing,

criminal

justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college could ever hope

to match. In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there with God, Santa

Claus, The Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. 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.

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