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>> 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 or 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 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 grand children. 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!!!!!!!