Just who are they kidding?
One of those bizarre studies has been released again, with social researchers now estimating that raising a child to the age of 18 costs $1,028,093.
Really?
Let’s do the sums here.
According to those figures, we need to spend $57,116 on our child each year, which is very bad news indeed for the majority of us, who do not earn that amount in a year.
In fact, based on this study, it appears I may be a bit of a financial whiz, because I am managing to raise three children on far far less than that.
I would really like to know how they come up with these figures, because let's face it, they are a bit of an insult to ordinary families.
And I would like to know HOW you could possibly spend that much on a child?
Private school, yes. Day care certainly. However, I suspect to come up with figures that high, people in the study may be hiring The Wiggles to entertain at Tarquin’s first birthday party, rather than a relly bash with an ice-cream cake.
Perhaps annual overseas holidays are considered de rigueur, rather than the road trip to the caravan park on the coast (if they can afford it).
Does Crispin have a personal chef?
Or possibly Annabelle is tutored in the piano by David Helfgott, rather than learning the recorder with all the other Grade 4’s.
But what of low-income earners? Are there children any worse off? Are they heck.
Next time one of these studies comes out, I would like the researchers to publish WHERE the study took place, HOW many people were interviewed. And just WHERE the people in the study were from.
Because interviewing the residents of Buckingham Palace does not make for an accurate survey.