The Cost of Having Children

A few years back I did research and wrote an article on how much it would cost to be having children. At that time the price of gas and rice have not gone up yet but the overall outcome was still pretty high.

Then a few days back I got this forwarded email from my sister saying that the government “recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 of age and came up with P5,404,725.00 for a middle income family.” Oh my goodness! That doesn’t even include college tution!

Then it breaks down the amount and comes up with P300,262.50 a year or P25,021.88 a month or P6,255.50 a week. So that’s P893.64 a day or just over P37.23 an hour.

But instead of dissuading people from having children because of the “costs” there are still so much more you get for that amount. The email lists the following perks:

        * 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.

What else can you get for P5,404,725.00? You never have to grow up. You get to finger-paint, mess about with paints and clay, play hide-and-seek and catch dragonflies and butterflies.

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 P893.64 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for retrieving a dog off the garage roof, taking the training wheels off a bike, removing a splinter, filling a wading pool, changing the clothes of the Barbie dolls.

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! So love & enjoy your children & grandchildren & great-grandchildren! It's the best investment you'll make!