Family Life

06.15.12 | Sarah Harnisch

For 235-thousand dollars, you could indulge in a shiny new Ferrari, or you could raise a child for 17 years. The government released a report Thursday that found a middle-income family with a child born last year will spend about that much in child-related expenses. It's up 3-percent, or 8-thousand-dollars, from 20-10. The largest single expense was housing at 70-thousand dollars, or 30-percent of the cost. Though many of us with sons may argue that food should be higher. In 1960, it was just 25-thousand to raise a kid for 17 years.