The Cost Of Children.

I met with two of my good friends yesterday and spent a pleasant hour just sitting chatting. One of the friends I have something very much in common at the present time. His daughter has just opened a hairdressing business in the village, my son as you know has just set himself up as a sole practitioner   in law.

We were joking that even now at this stage in life we find ourselves offering support to our children, and we would have it no other way.

What brought this to the fore in our discussion was that we had noted in the news that the government was again telling us the cost of raising a child. Once again they had the bold figures and they were so far off the mark. Morever the figures only scratched the surface of a beautiful story.

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with £80,140 for a middle income family. They did not say if that was a child who ended up going to university or not. The figure was bland and open to discussion.

But lets take that figure.  It is not much more than £1000 per year, or 85 per month or £20 per week almost £3 per day.

My friend reckons that is almost the cost of his dog.  I was thinking about it all as I walked home. What do I get for my money?

•            Naming rights. First, middle, and last!

•            Giggles under the covers every night.

•            More love than your heart can hold.

•            Butterfly kisses and big hugs.

•            Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, warm days full of laughter.

•            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 day really went.

•             

For the money  you never have to grow up. You get to:

•   finger-paint,

•   carve turnip lanterns,

•   play hide-and-seek,

•   catch fish, 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  hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day,

•    and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

 For the money,  you get to be a hero just for:

•   Retrieving a ball 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 tangled hair, and coaching a football team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

 You get a front row seat to history to witness the:

The first step, the first word,
the  first bra,
the  first date, and
 the  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. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a  party, ground them forever, and love them without limits.

So one day they will like you, love you without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!

Love and enjoy your children & grandchildren.

They are worth every single penny spent.


Sadly we so often know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.

Have a great day.

See why I have put this art back on in my other blog. The Four Seasons