The Price of a Child.

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.
* 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 what stresses you encountered 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.
* Never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to keep:

* Reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh.
* Watching Saturday morning cartoon.
* Going to Disney movies.
* Wishing on stars.

And,

* You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas.
* You get hand prints set in clay on Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters on 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 you get a front row seat to witness their:

* First step.
* First word.
* First bra.
* First date.
* 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 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 limit.

That is quite a deal for the price!