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In its annual report on how much it cost to raise a child from birth to age 17, the USDA calculates the grand total for kids born in 2011 is $234,900 (nearly $296,000 when accounting for inflation).
As I’m now only three weeks away from delivering my third child, naturally I became quite nervous and a bit queasy upon reading this news. The kid cost total—a 3.5% increase from 2010—accounts for all child-related expenses, USDA calculates, including housing, child care, education and health care.
One of the primary drivers, the agency finds, is the increase in health care costs http://ebn.benefitnews.com/blog/ebviews/wellness-disease-management-chronic-conditions-npr-sick-in-america-2724885-1.html, including employee-paid insurance premiums and doctors’ visits and prescriptions that aren’t covered by insurance. Such costs, according to USDA, account for 8% of the kid cost total (compared to 4% in 1960).
Also exploding is the cost of child care and education, up to 18% now from 2% in 1960.
Obviously, these economic shifts largely are manifestations of societal shifts: There was less obesity and fewer medical advances in 1960, which likely accounts for lower health care costs. And fewer women worked outside the home 50 years ago, keeping the cost of child care low.
However, I think there are benefits underpinnings as well—the slow progress of work-life supports for parents http://ebn.benefitnews.com/news/std-parental-leave-towers-watson-fmla-pwc-katie-griffith-2722309-1.html and low access to consumer supports http://ebn.benefitnews.com/news/adp-compensation-human-resources-online-2720680-1.html compared to the increasing number of consumer-driven health plans, just to name two.
What do you think? What other factors have contributed to the high cost of raising children? Share your thoughts in the comments.
In its annual report on how much it cost to raise a child from birth to age 17, the USDA calculates the grand total for kids born in 2011 is $234,900 (nearly $296,000 when accounting for inflation).
As I’m now only three weeks away from delivering my third child, naturally I became quite nervous and a bit queasy upon reading this news. The kid cost total — a 3.5% increase from 2010 — accounts for all child-related expenses, USDA calculates, including housing, child care, education and health care.
One of the primary drivers, the agency finds, is the increase in health care costs, including employee-paid insurance premiums and doctors’ visits and prescriptions that aren’t covered by insurance. Such costs, according to USDA, account for 8% of the kid cost total (compared to 4% in 1960).
Also exploding is the cost of child care and education, up to 18% now from 2% in 1960.
Obviously, these economic shifts largely are manifestations of societal shifts: There was less obesity and fewer medical advances in 1960, which likely accounts for lower health care costs. And fewer women worked outside the home 50 years ago, keeping the cost of child care low.
However, I think there are benefits underpinnings as well — the slow progress of work-life supports for parents and low access to consumer supports compared to the increasing number of consumer-driven health plans, just to name two.
What do you think? What other factors have contributed to the high cost of raising children? Share your thoughts in the comments.
