Child costs?

Question

This is for an assignment I'm doing, and I can't seem to find the costs of raising a child for specific areas.
How much does it cost to rais a child for one year, and how much will it cost to buy a:
-crib
-stroller
-baby food for one year
-baby formula for one year
-baby toys for one year
-blankets
-bottles and nipples
-baby diapers for one year
-baby clothes for one year
-diaper bab
-childcare for one year
-medical care for one year

Answer 1

here's what I do know
crib- anywhere from $220
stroller- $200
childcare is expensive

Ok, here's what I know from my parenting course back in high school.
it cost on average $57000 to raise a boy and $55000 to raise a girl. that's not including sports, private schools, college, cars, etc.
that money pays for their basic needs of survival....

Answer 2

It all depends on your area and how much work you want to put into it.

The crib and stroller can be bought second hand. Baby formula will run you probably about $8 a day. Child care will run you anywhere from $500 to 1300 a month.
Blankets, toys, clothes can all be bought second hand, but would still run you about $400. Bottles and nipples would be around $100. You will get a generic diaper bag at the hospital. Baby food will be about $3 a day.
Medical care ... well, do you have insurance. If you DON'T have insurance, this part will be MUCH cheaper, actually. If you DO have insurance, just to deliver the baby will be between $1800 and $3000. Medical care for the year will be about $400 or so for the year (assuming there are no major problems). And the insurance for your new one will be anywhere from $150 a month to $400 a month.

I am sure the point of your assignment is to teach you to be responsible for your actions and WEAR A CONDOM!

Answer 3

In your assignment, can you suggest ways to keep these costs down? I see several adjustments you can make that will greatly reduce the cost. If so, here they are:

Co-sleep rather than using a crib.
Read about benefits of sleep-sharing here:
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/T071000.asp#T071005

Instead of using a stroller, use a sling or other baby carrier. Here is one of my faves, around $40:
http://mybabynest.com/
You can even make two slings from 5 yards of fabric from a discount store like wal-mart. If you buy the $1 per yard fabric, that's five bucks for two slings.

Forget baby food. Start baby off on healthy whole foods like bananas and avacados. Better for baby, the environment and your wallet.

Don't use formula. Breastfeed. Also better for mother, baby, environment and your wallet.

Baby toys for the first year? A box or two, an old cell phone and a few pans from the kitchen cupboard. They'll be fascinated - no money spent.

Bottles and nipples will not be needed if baby is breastfed.

For blankets, diapers and clothes, have a baby shower. These are the most popular items given at any shower. I also got my diaper bag from my shower, but I also received several for free from the hospital!

Childcare? Maybe mom wants to stay home. And unless she has a high paying job, it will be cheaper if she does. The price of childcare is unreal!

Breastfeeding will reduce the cost of medical care. Breastfed babies have fewer infections and illnesses.

I find the first year of baby's life to actually be pretty cheap. It's later when they want to join soccer leagues and take gymanstics and piano lessons that it really gets expensive!

But oh so worth it.

Answer 4

The most expensive thing I've found is adding her to our insurance, which increased $300 a month.

Food is relative to whether the mom is formula or breastfeeding. Formula is about $100 a month.

Cribs, clothes, swaddles, strollers, bottles, et cetera are a one time purchase. I paid less than $2k for all my infant/nursery supplies. It's relative to whether or not a person shops second hand or buys name brand.
(I shopped secondhand. My changing table was $30. My crib was $175. I got clothes at the baby shower & bought clothes on eBay. Strollers are about $50 for a regular, $10 for an umbrella. I paid $65 for the car seat. Bottles were about $50 for all.)

Thus far, diapers are running me about $50 a month. (She goes through a pack of swaddlers a week which cost $10 per pack. I could buy generic diapers but they leak)

I take my baby to work or have my mom watch her. It's relative to the area, but around here, in home child care is about $130 per week. Daycare centers charge about $150 a week.

Labor and delivery ran me about $5k b/c I had a c-section (and I have poor insurance).

Answer 5

Well let's see here each item approximately costs:
-crib $150
-stroller $100
-baby food for one year $300
-baby formula for one year $1200
-baby toys for one year $200
-blankets $150
-bottles and nipples $100
-baby diapers for one year $900
-baby clothes for one year $500
-diaper bab $50
-childcare for one year $5500 (in a city)
-medical care for one year $300 (w/good insurance)

Not to mention the cost of time off of work and OTC medecines and all the other things that just seem to pop-up without warning. That brings the total to about $10,000 in the first year alone. Makes you think twice, huh?

Answer 6

Crib: unnecessary. My 16 month old son rarely sleeps in his crib. You can find costs for cribs at amazon.com, or go with a cheaper option: a playpen. Better yet, co-sleep.

Stroller: check amazon.com for a general idea. It would be cheaper and more practical to buy a baby sling like a Maya Wrap. Check http://www.mayawrap.com/.

Baby food one year: unnecessary. Solids need not be started until 8 or 9 months of age, and some babies don't even start until they are a year old. See http://www.borstvoeding.com/voedselintroductie/vast_voedsel/rapley_guidelines.html for more information on implementing a baby-led approach to starting solids. A good rule of thumb is that if you have to mash up the food, the baby probably isn't ready for it anyway.

Baby formula for one year: entirely unnecessary. Breastfeed.

Baby toys for one year: Babies love pots and pans, tupperware, plastic cups, water bottles filled with uncooked rice and securely closed, and all kinds of other items that are found around the house.

Blankets: the hospital usually gives you several receiving blankets that you can take home when the child is born

Bottles and nipples: Already supplied by mother -- breastfeed.

Baby diapers for one year: now here's one I haven't managed to cut the costs on. I hear cloth diapering is much cheaper, but honestly don't do it myself. Again, you can check amazon.com for prices of disposable diapers or http://www.softclothbunz.com/ for cloth diapers.

Baby clothes for one year: go to freecycle.org and get free baby clothes from mothers in your area whose babies have outgrown their clothes already.

Diaper bag: usually you get a free one from the hospital, curtesy of one of the major formula companies. Just take the formula out of the bag and donate it to someone who doesn't know any better.

Childcare for one year: I have been fortunate enough to not have to worry about this, since I get to stay at home with my kids. But I'm sure you could do a search online for a child care center and find one SOMEWHERE that shows you the cost.

Medical care for one year: this cost is greatly reduced if you are breastfeeding. This varies considerably depending on what kind of health insurance plan you have. It is virtually impossible to predict how much a child will cost without knowing whether you are breastfeeding or formula feeding, whether the child is in day care or at home, what kind of insurance you have, what part of the country you live in, when you start solids (allergies and illnesses are greatly reduced when they are started AFTER six months of age), etc etc etc.

Answer 7

Okay crib is about $300
stroller is about $150
baby food is $500 or so
toys $300
blankets $50
bottles- $40
diapers $400 a year
clothes $500 a year
diaper bag about $30
childcare about $6000
medical- about $1200 with just insurance coverage, plus Dr. visits about $100 a year depending on co pays if baby is healthy.

Answer 8

I'll give you the numbers for what we spend:
Crib--$279, crib mattress $60, crib bedding $30

Stroller--jogging stroller $150, umbrella stroller $15

Baby food--(make my own) $15/month for fresh veggies (5-12 months old) = $105/year

Formula--Parent's Choice Soy w/DHA&ARA. 25.7oz can costs $14, 1 per week for 52 weeks = $728

Baby toys--swing, bouncer, jumperoo, chew toys, mobile, etc--$250

Blankets--$30

Bottles and nipples--Gerber Comfort system came with medium flow nipples, had to purchase slow and fast flow separately--$$40

Diapers--Huggies from Costco $40 per case, about 1 case per month= $480/year

Baby clothes for a year--about $100 per size, 4 sizes in the first year (0-3. 3-6, 6-9, 12)--$400

Diaper bag--free from the hospital

Childcare for one year--stay at home mom, don't know how much daycare would cost

Medical care for one year--Additional $60 insurance premium per month, $30 co-pay for visits at 14 days, 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months--$900/year

Other things you left off your list:
Carseats--infant seat (use for 7 months) $75, convertible seat $60

Changing table/dresser--$200

wipes and diaper rash ointment--$80/year

Cost of pregnancy and delivery (via c-section)--$20,000 without insurance, with insurance still had $4000 out of pocket in deductibles and co-pays