
Love Your Children ... Without Counting the Cost
By Ernest Teng
A Recent estimate put the cost of raising a child
from birth to age 18 at US$160,140 for an American middle-income
family. That doesn't even include college tuition.
But US$160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down.
It translates into US$8,896.66 a year, US$741.38 a month, or
US$171.08 week. Still, you might think the best financial advice
would be not to have children if you want to be "rich".
However, the truth is just the opposite.
What do you get for the US$160,140? The following
is what I read somewhere:
Naming rights. 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 jam.
A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites,
building sand castles, and skipping down the sidewalk in the
pouring rain. Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what
the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.
For US$160,140, you never have to grow up. You get
to finger-paint, play hide-and-seek, and never stop believing in
Santa Claus. You have an excuse to keep reading the Adventures of
Pooh and watching Saturday-morning cartoons, going to Disney
movies, and wishing on stars...
For US$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 the bike, removing a
splinter...
You get a front-row seat to history to
witness the first step, first word, 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.
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
with God. You have all the power to heal a booboo, 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.
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