The Monetary Costs of Parenting

The costs of raising kids these days is higher than ever. A federal government report (Department of Agriculture's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion) indicates that a middle-income family with a child born last year will spend about $221,000 raising that child through age 17. The largest single expense is housing, followed by food and child care/education. The $221,000 in expenses rises to about $292,000 when adjusted for inflation.

For parents below the middle class and who are employed, i.e., working parents with incomes of less than $35,463 (or less than $40,463 if filing a joint income tax return), there is at least an Earned Income Tax Credit that can be used to offset these expenses. They can receive up to $160 per month if they know how to apply. Unfortuntely the vast majority of working parents do not take advantage.

The nonprofit, parenting organization I founded in 1974, the Center for the Improvement of Child Caring, (www.ciccparenting.org) is working on a project to facilitate such parents knowing how to apply and therefore obtain these badly needed monies.

I will keep you informed in future posts.