Childrens cost issues bear some thinking about. Being of mother of 4 ranging from 21 all the way down to 5, I was recently asked by a close friend what was the cost of raising a child, and if I thought she was ready to have a baby. Wow what a hard question to answer and I told her I would have to get back to her on the cost of children's lives and that she would have to decide if she was ready to have a baby.
Once I got home I started a list of cost for things like children clothing and childrens shoes just to start. Then I went onto the educational things like the books for children to read for enjoyment and for learning, and a scary thought came to mind. Can I afford to have my children? For example my daughters dress and most of her other childrens clothes cost as much as one of my shirts or jeans and she is growing out of them every 6 months.
Then of course my 13 year old son loves to read science fiction books for children and they cost just as much as any paperback book that I may read. So before I even took into consideration the childrens toys that each child has overfilling their toy boxes I decided to stop.
I called my dear friend and told her that love is the most important part of having and raising a child and the cost of such things as childrens shoes, childrens toys and all the other things that are needed to fill a childs room until the child turns 21. The childrens book shelf and closet just came after that.