Children Cost a Lot to Raise (but Grandparents' Love is FREE!)
Dear Child, Today was Saturday, so we got to hang out all day. Weekends are wonderful like that. But come Monday, it's back to the 9-to-5 grind for both your mother and I. After all, these bills aren't going to pay themselves! This probably isn't going to be news to you, but kids are expensive. I'm not singling you out in particular (although you sure eat a lot!); kids in general cost a lot to raise, from things like diapers and doctor's appointments to new clothes and toys. But have you ever stopped to think about how costly childcare is? Allhusen et al. (2006) paint a pretty dire picture of childcare costs in the United States. This was written back in 2006, but I think that it still rings true today: "T he Utopian view of the two-parent nuclear family living in the suburbs with father working nine to five while mother baked cookies and children played happily...has been replaced. Today, when there are cookies they are baked at midnight or bought at the ...