The cost of raising a child from birth to 18 has recently been calculated at £137,674.34! and that doesn’t include University.

For those with children, that figure leads to wild fantasies about all the money we could have banked if not for (insert your child’s name here). For others that might confirm the decision to remain childless. But £137,674.34 isn’t so bad if you break it down. It translates into £7,648.57 a year, £637.38 a month or £159.34 a week. That’s a mere £22.76 a day! Just under £1.00 an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice says don’t have children if you want to be “rich”. It is just the opposite.

What do you get for your £137,674.34?

Naming rights. First, middle and last!

Glimpses of God every day.

Giggles under the covers every night.

More love than your heart can hold.

Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.

Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds and warm biscuits.

A hand to hold, usually covered with jam.

A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sand castles and skipping along the pavement in the pouring rain.

Someone to laugh yourself silly with no matter what your Boss said or how well the housing market performed that week.

For £137,674.34 you never grow up.

You get to finger paint, play hide and seek, play with Thomas the tank engine, watch Noddy on television, and never stop believing in Father Christmas.

You have an excuse to keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh, watch Saturday morning cartoons, going to Disney movies and wishing on stars.

You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under fridge magnets, help make paper chains at Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother’s Day, and cards with backward letters for Father’s Day.

For £137,674.34 there is no greater investment.

You get to be a hero just for retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof, taking the training wheels off the bike, removing a splinter, filling the paddling pool, coaxing a wad of chewing gum out of hair, and coaching a football team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat to history to witness the first step, first word, the first day at School the first date and the first time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal.

You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you are lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren.

You get an education in psychology, nursing and communication that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there with God.

You have all the power to heal a boo-hoo, scare away 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.

Enjoy your children.