You’ve probably already seen cost estimates for raising a child from infancy to 18-years-old. The figures are outrageous no matter the source. More numbers are in this week. The Wall Street Journal ran a piece on March 3, 2007 about how much it costs in 2007 to raise a child [emphasis mine]:

With the debate about the country’s wealth gap heating up again, pampered kids provide some of the most dramatic examples, from toddlers in $800 strollers to 10-year-olds with cellphones. [sic] But for many families, drawing the line between attentive parenting and extravagance is a tough call; even parents who are relatively strapped will go to great lengths for their children.

[snip]

We placed all these expenses on a spectrum, from those that parents and experts say are the most common, up to more unusual — and costly — frills. At the lowest end, our estimates came in at about $800,000 (in 2007 dollars) through the age of 17. Add in extras like private school, a nanny and a flat-screen TV set in a kid’s bedroom, and that figure climbs to $1.6 million.

[snip]

A stay-at-home mom in Needham, Mass., Cory Lewkowicz, says her family is comfortable, but not with unlimited resources. With a degree in developmental psychology, Ms. Lewkowicz feels adventure travel is one of the most esteem-building gifts she can give her two children.

You might be inclined to consider that children benefit from all this “esteem-building” were it not for common sense a piece that ran a week earlier titled, College students get an A in narcissism. What do you think? Is there a link? What kids need these days is more responsibility for contributing to the communities and families which they are a part, not more “adventure travel.”

I don’t hold my position because I feel badly that we can’t afford cell phones for our children. I’m not bellyaching because we hold a lower economic status than the families in the article. On the contrary, we can probably monetarily “afford” more than we currently allow our children.

Yet, the Bible teaches that godliness with contentment is great gain. The way to cultivate contentment, however, is not by feeding our material appetites. It will never be satisfied. When one “goal” is reached, there will always be another one. We are not by nature a content people.

John Piper likes to say, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” Let our goal be Jesus. We will never feel satified with our lives until we realign our priorities. We were created for worship.

It is easier to serve Jesus when we live neither rich or poor. That’s why the Proverb says, “Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.” (30:8) God knew our frailty and how we’d love money more than Him. In fact, the Bible is full of stories to warn us about trusting in anything other than God.

Our family is reading through the Bible. We are in 2 Kings now and noticing a pattern: Israelites are in trouble, God delivers, Israelites forget, Israelites look to foreign gods and kings for help. We do it too.

But back to the article. How do you raise one child given the costs, let alone more than one child? When I write again, I will tell you how we are doing it for a small fraction of the cost and loving it. I hope some of you will share your tips in that post later.