Luxury Items

If you think about how expensive it is to raise children, it is quite a pity we don’t get to enjoy them more! From the day they are born they require enormous investments of time, money and energy. In a way, they can be considered luxury items.

By the arrival of the second or third child, most couples have invested in a bigger house, a safer car and a college fund or two. They are spending a sizable amount of their annual budget on clothing, toys, car seats, bassoon lessons, orthodontics, birthday parties and family-friendly vacation involving ponies, zip lines and boogie boards.

While any parent can pride themselves on how well they are managing this demanding choreography, it is rather obvious that management is the operative word.

We are managing our children, shuttling them through childhood and investing in them as if we were hoping to boost their (and our) rate of return.

Yet, it could be so easy, especially today in the age of dish washers, Skype and disposable diapers. After all, the best thing about having children is growing up with them.

And, yes, of course it is nice if they also play the bassoon and win first prize in a floor routine.