Parents of ATOT:

[bignateyk]

Neither will your children

I dunno. My parents were slave drivers. I mowed, landscaped/weeded, did the laundry, did the dishes, helped cook, cleaned the house, and took the garbage out when I was a kid.

 

[Fritzo]

The figure they gave seems about right..especially once education and medical costs are involved (both of my kids needed braces at $5500 a pop )

Kids are little money vacuums. They smell money, and when detected they suck it out of you wallet before you know what happened. I had 5 $20 bills in my wallet when I came home yesterday, then my daughter needed money for school pictures, my son needed a haircut and school supplies, and they both expected food that night.

I have $3 left today.

 

[Legios]

Id say our kids cost us anywhere from 2-3000 a month. We both work so the money isnt an issue.

 

[leftyman]

I dunno. My parents were slave drivers. I mowed, landscaped/weeded, did the laundry, did the dishes, helped cook, cleaned the house, and took the garbage out when I was a kid.

Well at least you will get some small satisfaction, knowing that you will get your lawn mowed and garbage taken out for approximately 21 years (give or take) of financially supporting the little money pits.

 

[Meractik]

My dogs can't mow my lawn, cook me dinner, and put me in a home when I'm senile though :awe:

Or carry in all the groceries from your minivan in one trip.

 

[rudeguy]

The figure they gave seems about right..especially once education and medical costs are involved (both of my kids needed braces at $5500 a pop )

Kids are little money vacuums. They smell money, and when detected they suck it out of you wallet before you know what happened. I had 5 $20 bills in my wallet when I came home yesterday, then my daughter needed money for school pictures, my son needed a haircut and school supplies, and they both expected food that night.

I have $3 left today.

yep..kids are like fixer upper houses, there is always something needing funds. Be it health care, clothes, furniture, food, computer stuff...there are always things that need money.

I'm not saying that every one of them is a necessity but most parents, myself included, like to give their kids the best life possible. On my way home tonight I have to stop and get groceries ($100 at least and that's just for breakfast and snacks while I'm at work) and a new webcam for lil rudeguy. Does he need the webcam? Could he survive on less food? Sure. But I work hard to give him a good life.

 

[leftyman]

yep..kids are like fixer upper houses, there is always something needing funds. Be it health care, clothes, furniture, food, computer stuff...there are always things that need money.

I'm not saying that every one of them is a necessity but most parents, myself included, like to give their kids the best life possible. On my way home tonight I have to stop and get groceries ($100 at least and that's just for breakfast and snacks while I'm at work) and a new webcam for lil rudeguy. Does he need the webcam? Could he survive on less food? Sure. But I work hard to give him a good life.

I would love to do the math on just the cost of all the cellphones I have purchased for my two lovely children.

 

[highland145]

I would love to do the math on just the cost of all the cellphones I have purchased for my two lovely children.

To date, I've told mine to buy his own. He's 12. When he starts driving, I'm sure I'll be overruled. A 12 year old doesn't need one anyway.

 

[lupi]

I live in the Bay Area. Moving from my tiny house in Oakland (I loved living there but the schools suck) to a town with excellent public schools cost almost an extra million.

My wife stopped working to be a stay at home mom. She had a six figure income.

I could go on and on, but that's depressing enough.

Lol

 

[TXHokie]

New CNN article - http://money.cnn.com/2013/08/14/pf/cost-children/index.html

Average $241k. Interesting note for family in Northeast earning $105k or more, average cost jumps to $446k.

I know it'll cost me way more overtime as I'm with previous poster where the wife gave up a decent salary to stay home. My kid just turned 11 so I'm already doubled average cost in lost potential wages alone not including anything else. But we both come from big families so having kids wasn't really a question. If anything I wish I could afford to have more than the three I have. If it was just about you and money and not having to be responsible for another human being then yeah, don't have any. Nothing wrong with not wanting to have kids. I'd much prefer that than see people have kids and don't take care of them or raise them to be proper citizens.

 

[waggy]

It costs as much as you want it to cost, from virtually free to sky's the limit.

and that's the thread.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

yeah its ridiculous... I feel like my parents probably spoiled me because I'm the only child. We got to go back to Asia EVERY year to visit my grandparents. Heck I still do it now... only because if I tag along with my parents they'll buy my ticket As a kid I got to travel a lot because my mom LOVES traveling. I saw Italy, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Russia, China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, you name it....

Quite honestly I don't think I'd be able to afford that for my kids when I grow up. It's enough money when the gf and I go on vacation. I can't imagine shelling out for 2 more... heh. My parents did really well.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Daycare is pricey....it gets more expensive when you have more than one kid...doubles/triples, etc... Ours is cheap at $525/month. My cousin has 2 kids in daycare and one in school....pays out $1200/month on daycare costs. That's the cost of having a career... Some people pay that from the first month through when they enroll in school....and then have to pay for summer programs after that to keep their kids out of trouble when school isn't in session.

For the most part, you can say that food and clothing is expensive for kids because the whole time from 0-18 years old, they are growing. It's actually worse when kids are younger because you want all the clothing to fit snug enough that it doesn't become a hazard. Hand-me-downs save a lot of money, but it typically takes parents a year or so to get comfortable with the idea of putting their babies in used clothes...when they are new parents, it's easy to get caught up in wanting all new stuff. By the second kid, they get the scraps....

Food isn't as expensive once you get out of formula and can feed them real food at 1 year....as long as you don't eat out all the time. Restaurant bills for a family of 4 can add up quick.

 

[natto fire]

It costs as much as you want it to cost, from virtually free to sky's the limit.

It's not as simple as clicking "child" then "add to cart" is basically what he is trying to say, OP.

 

[DrPizza]

Provided as good of a childhood as we could for our kids. Both grew up to be successful young adults (21 & 22 years old). Where do you draw the line between cost for the kids & entertainment for the adults though? If you take them to a theme park, do you consider 100% of that cost as a result of the children? My kids each did motocross racing. On top of $6000 bikes, new tires ever other week, neck braces, helmets, racing boots, racing outfits, etc. it was also another $200 each week for race fees, entrance fees, fuel, etc. But, we got a great deal of enjoyment out of watching them race - more enjoyment than stay at home sit on the couch adults would ever get. What's the value on that enjoyment?

 

[waggy]

Provided as good of a childhood as we could for our kids. Both grew up to be successful young adults (21 & 22 years old). Where do you draw the line between cost for the kids & entertainment for the adults though? If you take them to a theme park, do you consider 100% of that cost as a result of the children? My kids each did motocross racing. On top of $6000 bikes, new tires ever other week, neck braces, helmets, racing boots, racing outfits, etc. it was also another $200 each week for race fees, entrance fees, fuel, etc. But, we got a great deal of enjoyment out of watching them race - more enjoyment than stay at home sit on the couch adults would ever get. What's the value on that enjoyment?

we are in the same situation with my kids sports. my daughters gymnastics is $300 a month. then we have like 4k in fees/equipment (thank god for fund raising!).

My son is in TWD,self defense,sparing and wrestling. He tried t-ball and didn't care for it. those are expensive sports (not nearly as bad as gymnastics).

I get enjoyment out of going to practice and watching them compete (and bragging about it! lol).

I figure what else am i going to do with the time and money? sure we live on a tight budget (hence i drive shitty cars) but the positive we get out of it is worth it to us.

 

[rudeguy]

Provided as good of a childhood as we could for our kids. Both grew up to be successful young adults (21 & 22 years old). Where do you draw the line between cost for the kids & entertainment for the adults though? If you take them to a theme park, do you consider 100% of that cost as a result of the children? My kids each did motocross racing. On top of $6000 bikes, new tires ever other week, neck braces, helmets, racing boots, racing outfits, etc. it was also another $200 each week for race fees, entrance fees, fuel, etc. But, we got a great deal of enjoyment out of watching them race - more enjoyment than stay at home sit on the couch adults would ever get. What's the value on that enjoyment?

effing priceless

Its even better than getting them a nice gift, which is awesome because you get to see your child truly happy. But with sports you also get to be entertained and part of you is really doing that sport. Its still unreal to me how much joy I get out of watching lil rudeguy. Its not something you can describe to a non-parent and you damn sure can't put a price tag on it.

 

[Train]

Formula can be expensive, I think we were shelling out $400-$425 a month for my son after my wife stopped producing milk.

With 2nd kid, wifey was a little more careful about avoiding things that could cause milk to dry up, produced her own milk until we switched her to whole at 1 year. ~$4,500 cost difference right there between the two kid's first years.

 

[highland145]

Formula can be expensive, I think we were shelling out $400-$425 a month for my son after my wife stopped producing milk.

With 2nd kid, wifey was a little more careful about avoiding things that could cause milk to dry up, produced her own milk until we switched her to whole at 1 year. ~$4,500 cost difference right there between the two kid's first years.

Got her trained, you did.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Daycare was over $12,000/yr for the first few years.