The Price of Children

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with R1,681,470.00 for a middle income family. Talk about price shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.

But R1,681,470.00 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:
R93414.93 a year,
R7784.49 a month,
R1796.34 a week.
A mere R254.52 a day!
Just over R10.50 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 R1,681,470.00?

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.

For R1,681,470.00, 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,
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 noodlewreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For a mere R254.52 a day, there is no greater return for your rand. 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 paddling pool,
coaxing a wad of gum out of hairs, and
coaching a  team that doesn’t have to win but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat in history to witness the:
First step,
First word,
First date,
First time behind the wheel.
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!!!!!!!

Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren & great-grandchildren!!!!!!!

It's the best investment you'll ever make!!!!!!!!!