How Much Does It Cost To Raise A Child?

How much does it really cost to raise a child? Being a teenager who does not have any children, I am personally unable to answer that question, but since I do plan on having at least one child later on in life, I figure it would probably be beneficial to find out. When raising a child there are many things to consider, such as what vacations you would like to take them on, what to buy them, where to live, where to send them to school, what to feed them, the list goes on and on. Know wonder teenagers drive their parents insane, they are busy trying to make sure everything in our lives is perfect the way they wanted to raise us, yet we are too bust striving to be our own person to take a step back and thank them. I am planning on finding out how much it truly costs to have a child, from birth until college, and my guess is that it is a whole lot more than I would ever expect.

Let us just start out with the basic necessities, such as food and clothing. According to www.Babycenter.com's "cost of a child calculator", in 2007 for the average two-parent household with an income of $38,000-$64,000 a year food for one child would cost about $3,276 a year, and that is just basic food. That does not include eating out, which I plan to do often. What about soap, toothpaste, deordorant, shampoo, etc.? According to the same source, those things add up to a minimum of $2,185 a year!

Laura Barrett

Mrs. Probst

Period 1

These prices are also just for one child each year, that doesn't include the costs you will be paying for yourself.

What about education? As a parent one must decide whether to send their child to public or private schools. Although public schools tend to be virtually free, private institutions are quite costly, in fact, private grade schools can cost as much as $9,000 a year! (Barrett, Donna. Personal Interview. 11/22/06) What about sports? In an interview with my mother, Ms. Donna Barrett, I found that school sponsored clubs and activities are not cheap. Cheer alone can cost around $450 a year or more, and I am sure other clubs and sports have varying costs.

In addition to all that, let us take a minute to think about family vacations. The average family takes one or two family vacations a year. The average plane ticket is around $280, more or less depending on the destination (according to expedia.com), and in my family I have to visit people all over the country, taking about 4 family vacations a year. That could get pretty expensive! Another thing to think about is the money a person will have to spend while on vacation. Hotels usually run from $80-$300 a night, depending on where you plan to stay.

Laura Barrett

Mrs. Probst

Period 1

Now think about shelter. Where would you want to live to raise your child? I personally