Costs of Raising Kids

I came across this story about the expenses of raising a kid these days, the impact on the family finances and this little nugget hit me like a rock – “according to the U.S. Agriculture Department, Last year, a middle-income family spent an average of $190,980 to feed, house, clothe and entertain a child from birth until age 18, with the preteen and teenage years taking the heaviest toll”.
What?! That’s $10,610 a year. And add college to that - that’s the price of a kidney, or lung on the black market.

It also goes on to talk about giving kids weekly allowances to prevent them from over indulgence and to learn budgeting. This is something my wife and I have talked about in regards to our daughter and have asked other parents if they give their kids allowances. To our surprise not many do, and if they do give allowances it usually supplements the “hey mom I need $15 for the movies” cash – so what’s the point? Reading this article, a common rule is to give kids $.50-$1 each weekly for every year of their age. I don’t know about that, giving a 5 year-old $5 a week seems a bit much. Unless of course she’s buying her own clothes, then from a Dad’s point-of-view that’s a bargain (she definitely won’t be shopping at Limited Too).
Parents of teens ride waves of expenses
USA Today: Tips on budgeting for your teen's expenses