ANCHORAGE- The cost to have a child is getting more and expensive.
According to a USDA report, a middle-income family that makes between $59,000 and $102,000 can expect to spend $234,900 per child until he or she turns 17.
Laurie and her husband Tylan Shrock know all too well about the costs of having children.
They’ve got seven already and one on the way.
“Food is probably our biggest expense, Costco sees us once a month; we fill up the car - it’s pretty big,” said Laurie Shrock.
The cost represents a 3.5 percent increase from two years ago. The biggest expense is housing.
“I would be shocked if I found out that’s what we spent,” she said.
The Schrocks say it comes down to necessities.
“We don't buy every single thing we want, we are careful about a budget, talk to the kids. If we want to buy popsicles, we’re not going to buy ice cream,” she said.
Don Rulien, a local CPA, says although some families are getting by just fine, the vast majority are struggling.
“It discourages them from having more than one or two because you don't see the bigger families like you used to see,” he said.
But for the Schrocks eight is enough - for now.
