Why do children get MORE expensive as they get older?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think they get less expensive as they get older because they are able to work and earn their own money. My kids are required to work, and they are extremely hard workers. They are also required to either earn scholarships or pay their own way through college. After you turn 18 and you are legally old enough to join the military and fight for your country, you should not need your parents to pay your way through college.

For my grandmother's generation, they felt that kids got a lot cheaper after 8th grade, because that's when my GM dropped out of school and started working in the textile factory. And for my dad's generation, it was about the same -- he ran a small farm on the backlot of my grandparent's house starting when he was about 10 or 12, and was butchering animals and selling them to neighbors during the War (meat that wasn't part of the official rationing system was a good market!). Even in my siblings' generation, that was sort of true, as my brothers all worked bagging groceries to earn money for their clothes, college, and car.
So it's all cultural.
But that's not the life most of us are living now. (Indeed, even with that background, my own parents prohibited me from getting a paid job in high school .... saying that they no longer thought a minimum wage job was a good trade-off, and that my time would be better spent studying to get into a good college. They were probably right -- I went to a much better school than my brothers and make a lot more money now than they do.)

As an immigrant family, I think it's definitely cultural and values. We also encourage our kids to work; chores at home are required and they don't get money from us to do them. We don't give an allowance, if they want something non-essential and not during a holiday/birthday period, then they have to save up money and buy it for themselves.

[Anonymous]

I got mine for free!

[Anonymous]

This thread is ridiculous. I have a 1-year old and a 15-year old. The 1-year old's day care $1600/month. Diapers are about $40/month. There is no way, no way, at all, we spend an equivalent amount on the 15-year old per month. Even with orthodontics, fall and spring sports, social activities, cell phone, driving lessons, summer camps, academic workshops, new shoes 2x/year, etc. Total it all up and average it out over a year and it may, may hit somewhere around $500-800/month. The difference? Daycare and diapers are a necessity. The stuff for teens- it's not. Its ridiculous the amount of stuff parents in this area think their teens actually need- travel sports, tutors, etc. There's plenty of free tutoring to be had. And the thousands in dollars parents pay to have their precious little ones participate in travel sports rarely ever lead to a D1 scholarship. D3 - if you are lucky, and there's no scholarships involved. All that stuff is for their benefit, sure, but it's not a life necessity, and can be cut out if needed. We cut out the 15-year old's cell phone for 6 months and he survived. People need to get a freaking grip.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is ridiculous. I have a 1-year old and a 15-year old. The 1-year old's day care $1600/month. Diapers are about $40/month. There is no way, no way, at all, we spend an equivalent amount on the 15-year old per month. Even with orthodontics, fall and spring sports, social activities, cell phone, driving lessons, summer camps, academic workshops, new shoes 2x/year, etc. Total it all up and average it out over a year and it may, may hit somewhere around $500-800/month. The difference? Daycare and diapers are a necessity. The stuff for teens- it's not. Its ridiculous the amount of stuff parents in this area think their teens actually need- travel sports, tutors, etc. There's plenty of free tutoring to be had. And the thousands in dollars parents pay to have their precious little ones participate in travel sports rarely ever lead to a D1 scholarship. D3 - if you are lucky, and there's no scholarships involved. All that stuff is for their benefit, sure, but it's not a life necessity, and can be cut out if needed. We cut out the 15-year old's cell phone for 6 months and he survived. People need to get a freaking grip.

I like you.

[Anonymous]

If one parent is SAH, then costs go up with age (food consumption, if nothing else, increases); activities increase in cost, etc. For example, just last month, I dropped 4K on a saxophone; her old one was limiting what she could do. It was optional, sure.

Now, if there is child care required, babies are mode expensive , and costs decrease to near zero by teen years....Nothing my DD does costs as much as infant child care would (she is in public school).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is ridiculous. I have a 1-year old and a 15-year old. The 1-year old's day care $1600/month. Diapers are about $40/month. There is no way, no way, at all, we spend an equivalent amount on the 15-year old per month. Even with orthodontics, fall and spring sports, social activities, cell phone, driving lessons, summer camps, academic workshops, new shoes 2x/year, etc. Total it all up and average it out over a year and it may, may hit somewhere around $500-800/month. The difference? Daycare and diapers are a necessity. The stuff for teens- it's not. Its ridiculous the amount of stuff parents in this area think their teens actually need- travel sports, tutors, etc. There's plenty of free tutoring to be had. And the thousands in dollars parents pay to have their precious little ones participate in travel sports rarely ever lead to a D1 scholarship. D3 - if you are lucky, and there's no scholarships involved. All that stuff is for their benefit, sure, but it's not a life necessity, and can be cut out if needed. We cut out the 15-year old's cell phone for 6 months and he survived. People need to get a freaking grip.

+1. Good to know!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My elementary boys go through sneakers in about 5 weeks. Grocery bill over $300/week. Spring sports enrollment cost over a thousand dollars (plus cost of equipment). New golf clubs last week for one kid, orthodontia coming up for two kids, one week of full day camp for the summer for all three was over a thousand dollars. We aren't even into cell phones yet. Plane rides to visit grandparents, every time we vacation it's 5 flights and a suite or two hotel rooms. 5 lift tickets. I mean- you really can't imagine how expensive life with kids is if you continue to be active.

No offense intended pp, but this is really a classic DCUM response. People at all income levels need quality daycare. Not everyone has kids who will golf and ski.

it's valid and thought out. but '5 lift tickets' is something a rich dick in an 80s movie would say

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is ridiculous. I have a 1-year old and a 15-year old. The 1-year old's day care $1600/month. Diapers are about $40/month. There is no way, no way, at all, we spend an equivalent amount on the 15-year old per month. Even with orthodontics, fall and spring sports, social activities, cell phone, driving lessons, summer camps, academic workshops, new shoes 2x/year, etc. Total it all up and average it out over a year and it may, may hit somewhere around $500-800/month. The difference? Daycare and diapers are a necessity. The stuff for teens- it's not. Its ridiculous the amount of stuff parents in this area think their teens actually need- travel sports, tutors, etc. There's plenty of free tutoring to be had. And the thousands in dollars parents pay to have their precious little ones participate in travel sports rarely ever lead to a D1 scholarship. D3 - if you are lucky, and there's no scholarships involved. All that stuff is for their benefit, sure, but it's not a life necessity, and can be cut out if needed. We cut out the 15-year old's cell phone for 6 months and he survived. People need to get a freaking grip.

+1. Good to know!

true the no D1 scholarships
there was no one in my city that played more basketball than I did growing up, and I got ignored by all the scouts. now I know why, I wasn't good . playing 7 days a week did not change that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do think it's one of those things people exaggerate -- the same way they'll claim "the newborn phase is SO MUCH easier than having a 5 year old" My foot! I can't imagine a more expensive phase of life than when I had a baby and I was paying $2200 for nanny share, medical costs, baby stuff, diapers, hypoallergenic formula PLUS tons of money on breastfeeding/pumping supplies, White House Nannies to cover sick days when I just couldn't take off work, etc etc.

Now that we are just about to shake off daycare costs as we enter into kindergarten, we are planning to put a big chunk of that savings into the 529 for college. So our budget won't necessarily change all that much, but it's much different to be voluntarily saving than having those incredible expenses of the first year or two.

+10000

We have a year and a half left of daycare and we are looking forward to the increased flexibility in our budget. We intend to beef up 529 savings as well.

[Anonymous]

This is a long and old threat but not sure if it has mentioned before. For those who are saying that it get cheaper, I'm assuming because you're taking the public education route. Since daycare is not free to the public, you'd have to pay more.

[Anonymous]

College costs dwarf all your daycare costs. Paying for college is not mandatory, but working for the first four years of your kid's live isn't mandatory either.

If you planned ahead before you had kids, you wouldn't have to pay for daycare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think they're talking about aftercare and summer camps.

And sports and music lessons and academic tutoring...

here is mine:
tennis lesson 1 hour a week: $90
golf lesson 1 hour a week: $100
piano lesson 1 hour a week: $90
private tutoring 2 hours a week: $190

That adds up to $470/week = 1880/month

On top of 43k/year for Sidwell private school.

Is that expensive enough for you?

[Anonymous]

For us, it has been summer camps, braces, food, tutoring ($400/mo alone on that!!), music lessons, and the fact that my boys are in men's clothes and shoes which are much much more expensive than little kids.

Sure, my kids can go to the YMCA in summer (or be left at home alone), can have crooked teeth, cheap food like hamburger helper and pizza, we can just forget about grades and getting them help academically where they need it, , abandon the arts, and buy them clothes from the thrift store.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:College costs dwarf all your daycare costs. Paying for college is not mandatory, but working for the first four years of your kid's live isn't mandatory either.

If you planned ahead before you had kids, you wouldn't have to pay for daycare.

True. For is at least, we shifted the 2,600 we were paying in daycare into the college fund, plus our kids got expensive in all the ways other's mention on here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think they're talking about aftercare and summer camps.

And sports and music lessons and academic tutoring...

here is mine:
tennis lesson 1 hour a week: $90
golf lesson 1 hour a week: $100
piano lesson 1 hour a week: $90
private tutoring 2 hours a week: $190

That adds up to $470/week = 1880/month

On top of 43k/year for Sidwell private school.

Is that expensive enough for you?

You realize this is extreme right? RIGHT?

Or maybe you don't.