The Price of Children

教會的朋友傳給我這篇文章，主要是談養孩子的代價，回應最近政府發表的養育孩子到18歲的費用，雖然所費甚高，但是回報也很大，文章裡面提到一些令我會心一笑的好處，相信身為父母的都會有同感。

 

 

The Price of Children
 
兒童的價格

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle income family.  Talk about price shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.
政府最近計算了一個中等收入家庭養育孩童從出生到１８歲的費用要$160,140元，說到價格的衝擊，這還不包括上大學的費用。

But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:
但是這費用還不算太壞，如果你把它拆解開來：
    
  * $8,896.66 a year,   $8,896.66  一年
  * $741.38 a month, or   $741.38 一個月
  * $171.08 a week. $171.08 一星期
  * That's a mere $24.24 a day! 這不過是 $24.24 一天
  * Just over a dollar an hour. 才一元多一個小時

Still, you might think the best financial advice is don't have children if you want to be "rich." Actually, it is just the opposite.
仍然，你可能會想，如果你想要富有，最好的財務建議是不要有孩子，但事實可能想反。

What do you get for your $160,140.00?
你能從這 $160,140 得到什麼？
   
    * Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
        命名權，名與姓
    * Glimpses of God every day.
        每天親眼目睹神蹟
    * Giggles under the covers every night.
        每天晚上在被子裡面傻笑
    * More love than your heart can hold.
         超過你的心可以裝的下的愛
    * Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
         飛吻與像魔鬼氈的擁抱
    * Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
        無止盡的感嘆於石頭，螞蟻，雲，還有餅乾
    * A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
        有一雙手去握著，通常還沾滿了果凍或巧克力
    * A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.
        一個同伴去吹泡泡與飛風箏

    * Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day. 
       有人一起傻笑無論那一天你的老闆怎麼說或你的股票如何表現

For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up. You get to:
以 $160,140，你永遠不需要長大，你可以
   
    * finger-paint,
        手指畫
    * carve pumpkins,
        刻南瓜 （註：這是萬聖節的活動）
    * play hide-and-seek,
         玩捉迷藏
    * catch lightning bugs, and
        捉螢火蟲‘
    * never stop believing in Santa Claus.
        不放棄相信世界上有聖誕老人

     You have an excuse to:
      你可以有藉口去：
   
    * keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
       繼續讀  Piglet 還有小熊維尼的冒險
    * watch Saturday morning cartoons,
       看週六早上的卡通影片
    * go to Disney movies, and
       去看迪士尼的電影
    * wish on stars.
       向流星許願
    * You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.
可以把彩虹，心，花框起來在冰箱磁鐵下，收集噴彩的花枝做聖誕花飾，作母親節的手心彩印，字母倒著拼的父親節卡片
   
For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck.  You get to be a hero just for:
以一天只要$24.24元，那裡有一些大獎，你會成為一個英雄：
   
     * retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
        去把飛盤從車庫屋頂上拿下來
     * taking the training wheels off a bike,
        把腳踏車的輔助輪拿下來
     * removing a splinter,
        拔刺
     * filling a wading pool,
        把小塑膠游泳池裝水
     * coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets
treated to ice cream regardless.
把頭髮上的口香糖弄下來，指導一個永遠沒有贏過但是一定有冰淇淋吃的的棒球隊

You get a front row seat in history to witness the:
你可以得到第一排的座位去見證：
    * first step,
       第一次走路
    * first word,
       第一次說話
    * first bra,
       第一次戴胸罩
    * first date, and
        第一次約會
    * first time behind the wheel.
        第一次開車
   
You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.
你可以成為永恆，你得到你的家族樹的另一個分枝，而且如果你幸運，一個長長的名單在你的訃
文上列著孫子與曾孫，你還可以得到教育學位在心理學，護理，犯罪審理，傳播溝通，人類性教育方面，而且沒有任何大學可以提供相當程度的訓練。
   
In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!
Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren!!!!!!!
It's the best investment you'll make
在孩子的眼裏，你的地位僅次於上帝，你有權能去醫治擦傷，把床底下的怪物嚇跑，把破碎的心裝回來，監督派對，處罰永遠不能出門，沒有止盡的愛他們，這樣有一天，他們可以跟你一樣不在乎成本的去愛，這真是很好的一筆交易！
好好去愛而且享受你的孩子與孫子
這將是你最好的投資。