{"id":50366,"date":"2026-04-14T10:17:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T10:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=50366"},"modified":"2026-04-14T10:17:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T10:17:09","slug":"really-daunting-situation-for-parents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=50366","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Really daunting situation for parents&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>It now costs more than $300,000 to raise a child in the US over 18 years \u2013 a nearly 30% rise over the past three years, according to a new analysis.<\/p>\n<p>The average cost of raising a kid hit $303,418 after tax exemptions and credits, up 1.9% from a year ago, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lendingtree.com\/debt-consolidation\/raising-a-child-study\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LendingTree study<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>American parents are shelling out an average of $16,857 annually on little Johnny or Suzy \u2014 and $29,325 during each of the child\u2019s first five years, a more expensive time of life due to infant and toddler day care.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>It now costs more than $300,000 to raise your child in the US over 18 years, according to a new analysis. <span class=\"credit\">New Africa \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The average cost of the first five years actually decreased slightly, owing to \u201ca dip in day care costs,\u201d according to LendingTree.<\/p>\n<p>Matt Schulz, chief consumer finance analyst at LendingTree and the author of the study, said some parents are already making sacrifices, like dining out less \u2013 or in more drastic cases, deciding whether it\u2019s worth it for one parent to remain in the workforce or stay at home.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cWe all wish that we didn\u2019t have to crunch numbers and take finances into account when thinking about having a first kid or expanding your family, but the way costs are today, you\u2019re doing yourself a bit of a disservice if you don\u2019t,\u201d he told The Post.<\/p>\n<p>The nation\u2019s<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/us-news\/why-the-u-s-fertility-rate-has-hit-a-record-low-13e7c2f8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-nyp-affiliate=\"true\"> fertility rates hit record lows in 2025<\/a>, extending roughly two decades of declines. A large driver was a sharp downturn in birthrates for teens and women in their 20s.<\/p>\n<p>Among the costs measured by the LendingTree analysis, including rent, food, apparel, transportation and insurance, infant day care tops the list \u2013 averaging $17,264 a year.<\/p>\n<p>Day care costs climb even higher in some states, hitting $22,628 in California and $20,439 for New Yorkers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you factor in costs like infant day care that has seen practically hockey-stick growth in previous years \u2026 it all adds up to a really, really daunting situation for parents,\u201d Schulz said.<\/p>\n<p>Erica Sandberg, consumer finance expert at CardRates.com, said some families \u201care starting to get creative\u201d \u2013 shopping at thrift stores for children\u2019s clothing to avoid expensive retail prices or bartering for free goods in Facebook groups.<\/p>\n<p>There are several states where parents will be forced to pay even more than $300,000 to raise a child over 18 years, including Hawaii \u2013 the priciest place to raise a child at a staggering $412,661.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>American parents are shelling out an average of $16,857 annually on their child, according to LendingTree. <span class=\"credit\">David Pereiras \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Alaska and Maryland are the second- and third-most expensive states at $365,047 and $326,360, respectively. California is the fourth-most expensive state at $312,300.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>New Jersey ranks in fifth place at $312,295, while New York State is at No. 14 at $278,051.<\/p>\n<p>New Hampshire, Washington, DC \u2013 which offers free preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds \u2013 and South Carolina are some of the most affordable states at $201,963, $202,115 and $204,213, respectively.<\/p>\n<p>Families with young children are having an especially difficult time, typically spending 21.9% of their income on basic annual expenses, according to the analysis, which was based on a married, dual-income couple with one child earning a median family income of $99,999.<\/p>\n<p>Child care is considered affordable if it costs no more than 7% of a household\u2019s income, according to federal guidelines.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Infant day care tops the list of childrearing expenses, according to the analysis. <span class=\"credit\">nicoletaionescu \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In New York City, the average cost of child care for infants and toddlers was $26,000 in 2024 \u2013 meaning a family would need to earn $334,000 to afford care for a 2-year-old, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/comptroller.nyc.gov\/reports\/child-care-affordability-and-the-benefits-of-universal-provision\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">figures from New York City Comptroller Mark Levine\u2019s office<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s four times the median family income and the equivalent of 10 minimum wage jobs, Levine\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n<p>Day care centers have repeatedly hiked their prices, especially since the pandemic, so the cost of child care now significantly outpaces overall inflation \u2013 rising 8% on average from June 2024 through last month, while inflation jumped 4% over the same period.<\/p>\n<p>In rural parts of the country, there is a lack of supply of quality child care centers, so \u201cthe really good places can more or less charge what they want,\u201d Schulz told The Post.<\/p>\n<p>New York City is a different beast, with high labor and real estate costs making child care an even pricier business, he added.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Day care centers have repeatedly hiked their prices, especially after the pandemic. <span class=\"credit\">Rawpixel.com \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Another major factor in child care costs is the need to raise wages for workers to keep up with higher everyday costs, Sandberg said.<\/p>\n<p>When parents are forced to spend more on child care, there\u2019s a broader ripple effect across the economy, as it leaves them with less money for a car payment, mortgage or small business fund, along with retirement savings and emergency funds, Schulz said.<\/p>\n<p>Affordability issues have been a driving force at voting booths, with many Democratic candidates \u2013 including NYC\u2019s socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani \u2013 pledging to make child care free.<\/p>\n<p>In March, Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul, a fellow Dem, announced $73 million in funding to provide <a href=\"https:\/\/www.governor.ny.gov\/news\/governor-hochul-and-mayor-mamdani-announce-major-milestone-toward-launching-free-child-care\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-nyp-affiliate=\"true\">2,000 free 2-K seats<\/a> this fall in the city.<\/p>\n<p>Experts told The Post that people should start saving for child care as soon as possible to avoid getting overwhelmed by rising costs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think that it\u2019s cause for alarm,\u201d Sandberg told The Post. \u201cI think it should be more of a call to action.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Schulz suggested that individuals start putting a small amount of money from their paycheck each week into a high-yield savings account set aside as a \u201cfamily fund.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Other than childcare, expenses like food and clothing went up, too. The average annual cost of feeding a child rose 29.3%, to $4,208, from 2023 to 2026, according to LendingTree. <\/p>\n<p>The average annual costs of girls\u2019 apparel rose 14.7%, to $313. <\/p>\n<p>The report cited only girls\u2019 clothing since parents tend to spend more on their daughters\u2019 outfits than their sons\u2019, so the experts thought focusing on the former would yield an accurate picture of the typical financial burden facing households, Schulz explained.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/13\/business\/it-now-costs-over-300k-to-raise-a-child-in-the-us-really-daunting-situation-for-parents\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It now costs more than $300,000 to raise a child in the US over 18 years \u2013 a nearly 30% rise over the past three years,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50367,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=50366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50366\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/50367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=50366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=50366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=50366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}