It
doesn’t take a scientist to figure out why so many couples are choosing
to stop at just one child. Raising children is not only a very
expensive proposition these days; it also takes a lot of time and
energy. Many parents find that they’d rather focus all of their energy
on one child.
That said,
there are still many couples that dream of having a house full of kids.
But is that a practical dream these days considering how much it costs
to raise and educate each child? As a middle class mom of five boys, I
can share some insights on the matter.
Five kids doesn’t mean five times the cost
But it does
come pretty close. Each child will be somewhat cheaper than the last.
You won’t have to go out and buy all new baby gear. You might or might
not need a new-to-you vehicle to accommodate another car-seat. You
probably won’t have to move. If you get health insurance through your
employer, the premiums generally won’t increase too much.
That said, you will still have to lay out a significant amount of cash:
•
Deductibles and co-insurance costs for the pregnancy and birth, plus
check-ups, sick kid visits, glasses and dental care every year going
forward.
• Some baby
gear might be worn out or expired. If your children are close together,
the oldest one might still need the crib, car seat, stroller and high
chair (I had three in cribs at one point). If you have a girl and a boy,
you might not want to use very girly or boyish gear for the opposite
sex. It’s a good idea to buy gender neutral baby equipment when possible
if you know you’re planning a second.
•
Hand-me-down clothes are terrific, but there’s a good chance that the
second baby won’t be the right size in the right season. You could have a
rolly polly baby followed by a long lean one. Or a boy and girl. Once
they get into the toddler years, you might find that a lot of the
clothing is stained and ripped after the first child gets done with it.
Some kids are incredibly hard on clothes.
• Daycare
for two can be more than many people make in a week. I will go out on a
limb and say that daycare for three kids under five is more than most
people make in a week in this country.
• Feeding a
large family does let you take advantage of buying in bulk, but it’s
still a significant amount of cash to adequately nourish a family of
five or more every week. Once they hit the teen years, it’s almost
terrifying to see how much and how fast kids can eat.
• Vacations
can become super-expensive fast. A Disney vacation for a family of seven
is about the same price as a decent used car.
• A public
school education is pretty much free but you might have to pay a serious
premium when buying or renting a home to get into a good district.
Private schools and homeschooling might be an option, but both of these
are much more difficult to swing with larger families.
• Your
family size will be taken into account when it comes to college
financial aid, however you might not get any assistance for all of the
little costs that add up quickly such as application and testing fees,
college visits, graduation costs, not to mention all of those proms!
• While
there is no obligation to pay for your children’s weddings or to help
with the down payment for that first house or leave an inheritance, not
doing so might go strongly against your cultural beliefs and
expectations and leave you robbing yourself of a retirement to fulfill
these dreams.
Less direct costs of having a large family
It’s
difficult for both parents in a large family to have a career outside of
the home. Not only because of the cost of daycare, but also because
there are so many more balls in the air to juggle.
The more
children you have, the more potential conflicts you have with work. It’s
not uncommon for me to have one child out of school at least one day
out of the week for weeks on end. Kids get sick (and if you have
several children in several schools and activities, chances are your
home is where germs mix and mingle in your town). Kids have frequent
appointments. Kids need to be ferried from activity to activity. There
is always an open house or a recital or a big game. There are ways to
mitigate all of these demands on your time, but not eliminate them
altogether if you want to raise well-rounded children.
Larger
families mean more work. The kids can and should pitch in, but until
they are well into school age, mom and dad will still have to be in
charge of the household chores.
No comments:
Post a Comment