Monthly budget estimate

[flyingsaucermom]

Originally Posted by Cubey

It's more like 2 and a half people, in terms of costs and expenses. Children don't use up as much income as adults. They don't have rent, car payments, utilities. In fact, most of that is covered from the "head" of the household. So you could almost narrow it down further.

You don't have kids yet, do you?

Children use lights, they live in the home (rent), they ride in the car, they eat food... they do all of these things and yet DON'T contribute to household income. In addition they need to be cared for when mom and/or dad need to work or be out of the house...

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by flyingsaucermom

You don't have kids yet, do you?

Children use lights, they live in the home (rent), they ride in the car, they eat food... they do all of these things and yet DON'T contribute to household income. In addition they need to be cared for when mom and/or dad need to work or be out of the house...

When my youngest moved out the water bill went down by $60/month (long showers). Once they hit 14 boys eat a lot. Every activity costs money, even public school sports and youth soccer can cost hundreds. Child care/preschool is running $1,500-2,000/month.

[beautifulseattlehomes]

Cubey in fact children cost a lot of money....ski lessons, music lessons, clothing, shoes, gear, medical expenses, the dentist, braces, summer camps, after school activities, birthdays, travel, and the list goes on and on. Children may not have car payments or mortgages but they have plenty of other expenses that adults actually don't have and the last time I checked their airline tickets cost the same as the grownups. Each family does what feels right to them but most families I know with 2 plus children have them involved in quite a few activities and spend a lot of their money on said children including airfare a couple of times a year.

[Inkpoe]

Originally Posted by Cubey

It's more like 2 and a half people, in terms of costs and expenses. Children don't use up as much income as adults. They don't have rent, car payments, utilities. In fact, most of that is covered from the "head" of the household. So you could almost narrow it down further.

Clearly spoken by someone who doesn't have kids. Seattle is a very expensive city to raise children in, it accounts for one of the reason why Seattle is #2 major city to have the least amount of kids around (following SF).

Not to mention, your thinking is flawed... "Covered from the 'head' of the household".... What, does the head of the household have some magical stash of cash not derived from earned income?

This article would give you a better idea of how much one would have to spend in different brackets and what the general expenses are (keep in mind, these are for "normal" kids, sickly or special needs require more): The cost of raising a child born in 2012: $250,000 (or more) | KDVR.com

[Cubey]

My god, no wonder kids are so messed up these days.. some people really put THAT MUCH pressure on them activity wise?!?!

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by Cubey

My god, no wonder kids are so messed up these days.. some people really put THAT MUCH pressure on them activity wise?!?!

People are often surprised by the goals well educated, affluent people set for their kids, hoping for them to be more successful than they are as adults. Sports and other activities are probably more from peer pressure. We never forced ours but they all wanted to do soccer, basketball, baseball or softball and tennis. The girls did dance classes, the boy did scouts. All that does cost money but keeps them out of trouble and is good exercise, besides learning teamwork.

[flyingsaucermom]

Originally Posted by Cubey

My god, no wonder kids are so messed up these days.. some people really put THAT MUCH pressure on them activity wise?!?!

Most (of the relative affluent) actually do, but some don't. Generally speaking, I don't think it's these kids that are so messed up. For the most part I truly believe that "you get what you pay for" or 'you get your money's worth" or "you get what you put into it" (or pick your favorite relevant cliche/adage).

At the moment I limit my kids to two extracurricular activities each. They both swim at the city pool. One has gymnastics and the other does a game design class taught by his dad. Time wise, they could easily take on more, but I limit it because of costs and environmental impact (I really don't need to be driving everyday, especially for their activities). I think it's fine for my lower-preforming special needs kid, but I do wonder if I shouldn't be doing more for my neuro-typical child. On the other hand, I firmly believe they will encounter more scarcity in their lives than we have and I don't want to set up false expectations. Of all things that worries me most about contemporary parenting.

[angelenogirl]

I love when people think kids cost about as much as medium-sized dog.