cost of raising a child in U.S. up 30% since 2023: having a child is now ONLY a luxury sort of like owning a Caddilac or Rolls Royce at this point

Unless you are upper middle Class or wealthy raising a child for most people is simply not financially feasible to attempt at all here in the U.S. However, this is true in ALL developed countries on earth if you analyze birth rates too. For example, some of the lowest birth rates on earth are in Asia in places like China and South Korea and Japan. 

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The cost of raising a child in the U.S. has surged to over $300,000, marking a nearly 30% increase since 2023. A 2026 LendingTree study highlights that expenses like child care, food, and housing have pushed the average cost of raising a child to $303,418, or roughly $16,857 per year, excluding college expenses. 

Key Findings on Rising Costs:

• Total Cost: The average cost to raise a child from birth to age 18 has surpassed $300,000, up from roughly $237,000 in previous estimates, representing a 27% to 30% jump.
• Child Care Drivers: Child care costs are a primary driver, with some figures showing them rising 8% annually and over 50% in recent years, outpacing overall inflation.
• Regional Differences: Costs vary by location, with states like Hawaii, Maryland, and Massachusetts being among the most expensive, while the South generally offers lower costs.
• Budget Strain: This surge represents a massive financial strain on families, with costs and inflation forcing many parents to rethink spending, delay having children, or adjust work schedules. 

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The study, which factors in rising inflation and increased living costs, emphasizes that the financial burden has intensified significantly in a short period. 

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  Apr 14, 2026 — Raising a Child Now Costs Over $303K—Parents Face Nearly 30% Surge Since 2023” Raising a child in the U.S. has become significantl...

  

  

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It now costs over $300K to raise a child in the US

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https://nypost.com › 2026/04/13 › business › it-now-co...

5 days ago — It now costs more than $300,000 to raise a child in the US over 18 years – a nearly 30% rise over the past three years, according to a new ...

The cost of raising a child to age 18 in the U.S. is now over ...

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The cost of raising a child until age 17 is $233,610 on average. Low-income married couples spend $174,690 on average to raise a child. Low- ...

Raising a child in the US costs over $300k, nearly 30% rise ...

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4 days ago — Cheryl Casone, FOX Business host, reveals that raising a child in the U.S. now costs over $300,000, a nearly 30% increase since 2023.

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Raising a child in the US costs over $300k, nearly 30% rise ...

Apr 14, 2026 — Raising a child in the US costs over $300k, nearly 30% rise since 2023. FOX Business host Cheryl Casone discusses a new LendingTre...

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Raising a Kid in the U.S. Now Costs OVER $300K

Apr 15, 2026 — the average cost of raising a kid right now is $300,000. we saw the numbers the average. cost of raising a kid right now is $300,0...

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what is Healing?

 From my present perspective healing is perceptual but sort of perceptual-physical.

It's easier for a human being to start with the perceptual before the physical even though both are important.

For example, I was hopeful but also scared going in for my Robotic Hernia Surgery and I knew it was the best hope for me to stay alive. Still, I had to be very brave to face this and then to think about 6 weeks recovery time.

So, in order to heal I needed this operation which I had been prevented from getting for the last 4 years even after I found the best Robot Hernia Surgeon on the West Coast in Redding by my cardiologist because he told me 4 years ago my heart wasn't strong enough to be put completely under anymore. So, I waited until I almost died in the emergency room January 4th 2026.

Then my cardiologist reassessed my heart condition and said that because of my Defibrillator pacemaker installed in June of 2020 and because I began taking Amiodarone in 2022 my heart had grown much stronger and likely capable of withstanding a anesthesia which emulated a comatose state where my body could not move at all which is what is needed for this type of operation.

But, I remember having an oxygen mask put on my face and since I'm a little claustrophobic from Whooping cough at age 2 so I asked if I could take the oxygen mask off. The Lady Anesthesiologist said that I needed to have it on at the time so I put up with it. Now I realize that the metallic smell to the oxygen mask was likely a part of my anesthesia which continued for some degree up to a week later where I wasn't supposed to drive a car.

Then, the first week I was in pain and had trouble walking and needed help to get out of bed from my wife which bothered me a lot because I came from a more macho kind of era (born 1948). But, after the first week I had no pain at all and had figured out ways to get up more on my own ergonomically.

I guess what I'm saying is healing can be about having the will and the resources to go through something like this so you don't die which is a mental and physical discipline of doing what it takes to stay alive through whatever comes in your life.

So, what is healing?

It can be very simple or it can be very complex especially with today's really advanced medicine which I experience as nothing short of a miracle in my life at this point.

Otherwise, it is likely I would have died from something similar to diverticulitis by December without this robotic Hernia surgery.

So, the whole thing regarding staying alive this time at least was being able to do what I did to survive my life and to find this surgeon and to get the go ahead from my cardiologist for this operation to save my life.

By God's Grace 

Trump signs order to speed up review of psychedelic drugs for mental health treatment

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Trump signs order to speed up review of psychedelic drugs for mental health treatment

The order eases restrictions on psychedelic drugs like ibogaine to spur research on using the them for medical purposes.

Women are getting most of the new jobs. What's going on with men?

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Women are getting most of the new jobs. What's going on with men?

Epstein survivors have mixed feelings on Melania Trump's call for hearing in Congress

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Epstein survivors have mixed feelings on Melania Trump's call for hearing in Congress

NPR receives $113 million in charitable gifts

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NPR receives $113 million in charitable gifts

"My hope is that this commitment provides the stability and the spark NPR needs to innovate boldly and strengthen its national network," says Connie Ballmer, who gave $80 million of the $113 million.

Caracas' iconic macaws threatened by vanishing palm trees

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Manuel Rueda/NPR

The Americas

Caracas' iconic macaws threatened by vanishing palm trees

In the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, flocks of colorful macaws that once brightened city skies now face disappearing nest sites — and with them, a unique urban bond.

She paid into Medicare for years. Trump's immigration policy will end her coverage

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She paid into Medicare for years. Trump's immigration policy will end her coverage

KFF Health News

A provision in the GOP's One Big Beautiful Bill Act will make Rosa María Carranza and an estimated 100,000 other lawfully present immigrant seniors ineligible. Her once secure retirement is in question.

Tired of waiting for your EV to charge up? One Chinese company has a novel solution: Full Article

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Tired of waiting for your EV to charge up? One Chinese company has a novel solution

 

 

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Reporter's Notebook

Tired of waiting for your EV to charge up? One Chinese company has a novel solution

April 18, 20267:31 AM ET

John Ruwitch

An electric vehicle is seen at NIO battery swap station on March 9, 2025 in Yantai, Shandong Province of China.

Tang Ke/VCG via Getty Images/Visual China Group

BEIJING - Take a road trip in an electric car, and you know the juicing up routine. You pull off the highway, park at a charging station, plug in the car … and wait. If you're lucky, it's about half an hour. Sometimes, it's longer.

In China, one company can get you back on the road in minutes. I had the opportunity to see how, with Jason Wu, an executive at NIO Power, an EV maker.

A few weeks ago, I sat in a roomy SUV, while Wu, in the driver's seat, spoke to the vehicle. "Hi Nomi."

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"I'm here," the car responds in a cute, child-like voice. Wu asks the car to initiate a battery swap, and the car takes over.

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We drive into a small structure that looks like a one car garage without front and back walls. The car instructs Wu to take his foot off the brake, remove his hands from the steering wheel and to not open the doors.

"If you feel nervous, I'm here," it says. Then, it automatically backs into the car port.

The company recognizes that long charging times are keeping people from buying EVs

"This is fully-automated battery swapping," Wu says.

No more waiting to charge up. The car is about to get a fresh battery.

NIO has recognized that long charging times are one of the main reasons keeping people from buying EVs – not only in China, but all over the world.

The company has installed nearly 4,000 battery swap stations like this around the world, most in China.

NIO EVs are popular in China, but competition is fierce. The company has roughly 4% market share in vehicles that are primarily electric. Its battery swapping is still something of a novelty.

But it's an attractive solution in a country where many drivers live in apartments that don't always have charging ports.

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"On February 6, 2026, our total battery swapping network had provided 100 million swaps," said Wu. That's since the first swap station opened in Beijing eight years ago. "This fully demonstrates that battery swapping, as a power replenishment method, has already become very mainstream."

China's highways have 1,000 of these NIO swapping stations

NIO says it's saved drivers more than 83 million hours. Other companies are trying it, including CATL, the world's biggest battery maker. In the U.S., some see it as a useful potential solution for electric trucks, which have long charging times.

Wu extolls battery swapping as convenient, fast and safe. And he says it's good for the health of the batteries. There's also no need to get out and fuss with cables or gas pumps. Nio owners have the option of buying or renting the battery in their car, and they can charge the normal way, too.

For road trippers, NIO has put over 1,000 swapping stations along China's highways.

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EV technology is developing quickly. What's it like to cover such a dynamic industry?

Back at the battery changing station, the car stops in the port. It lifts up a tiny bit, and jostles around, followed by a muffled, methodic clanking sound and then, silence. The gray metal floor under the vehicle opens, and a machine rises to the undercarriage.

The car's entire battery pack, which weighs about 1,100 pounds, or about as much as a grand piano, is unbolted and whisked away, underground. It goes into a closed room on the side of the swapping station where it is plugged in to charge for a future user.

Under the car, there are a few clicks and clanks as a fresh battery is lifted into place and bolted securely to the vehicle. The system runs some diagnostic checks. And that's it.

"OK, you can see. Green light," Wu says. "The battery swap is done."

A screen on the swapping station shows how long the whole process took: Three minutes and eight seconds … or about the same time it might take to fuel up at a gas station.

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–Jasmine Ling contributed to this story.

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