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Class helps Airmen prepare for the staggering cost of raising a child

  • Published
  • By Megan Just
  • 452 AMW Public Affairs
MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, Calif. --  It would have been easy to mistake the Airman and Family Readiness Center for an infant supply warehouse. Stacks of handmade baby quilts and piles of tiny onesies covered the surface of the conference table while the neighboring desk looked like a drug store shelf with its neat rows of baby oil, shampoos, wet wipes and diapers.

The baby supplies were gifts for expectant Team March parents who would be attending the Air Force Aid Society-sponsored Bundles for Babies course later that afternoon.

"The purpose of the Bundles for Babies class is to educate people expecting children about the financial implications of babies," said Valerie Fioretta, Airman and Family Readiness Center director.

Fioretta, a 27-year Defense Department civilian employee, has taught Bundles for Babies class since the program's inception about ten years ago.

"I go over budgeting, investments, credit management, debt reduction, check book management," she said. "And then I get into how much these infants are going to cost them. That's when they really lose it."

Fioretta said a child born in 2010 can be expected to consume at least $36,780 in food by age 18. She said the total cost for raising a child averages $13,843 a year, which totals $279,180 for 18 years.

"In addition to the stuff you need, there's all the stuff (companies) make you think you need," she added.

The $279,180 figure does not include a child's college education, which, according to FinAid's financial calculator, could cost more than $240,000 for a four-year, in-state degree 18 years from now. Fioretta advises families to be realistic when deciding if they can afford to help their children pay for college.

"You can get a loan for college, but you can't get a loan for your retirement," she said.

As an Air Force Aid Officer, Fioretta sees firsthand the repercussions of Air Force families who have not been successful in keeping a balanced budget.

"Money management is a definite concern here at March with the clients that I am seeing," she said.

Unfortunately, Fioretta said many of the families who seek help are beyond the scope of the Airman and Family Readiness.

"Most of them have waited until they are too far gone and I can't help them," she said. "If they would have come to me a year or two earlier, I could have helped them."

In addition to encouraging parents to plan ahead for the reality of the cost of raising a child, one of the purposes of the Bundles for Babies class is to educate new parents about the resources available at Airman and Family Readiness--before the parent find themselves in dire circumstances.

The bundles the expectant military families receive at the Bundles for Babies class are valued at $70 and make for a nice start in baby savings. However, according to the tenets of the Bundles for Babies course, only active duty service members and those on Title 10 orders for more than 15 days can receive a bundle.

At March Air Reserve Base, with its nearly ten thousand affiliated Air Force reservists, Air National Guardsmen, Navy reservists, Army National Guardsmen and Army reservists, this rule would mean that a large portion of the attendees would leave class empty handed.

When Erica Bowlin of Menifee Bible Church called the Airman and Family Readiness Center several months ago and asked what they could do to help March service members, Fioretta knew the answer right away.

Bowlin coordinated with her pastor, and after collecting donations from the congregation, she delivered a load of baby supplies on June 3--just in time for the next Bundles for Babies class. Airman and Family Readiness Center staff members spent the rest of the day sorting and assembling bags for expectant reservists and guardsmen.

"It looked like Baby Gap exploded in my office," said Fioretta.

At the class on June 7, the expectant parents mingled and talked of baby showers and exchanged parenting advice as Fioretta completed the registration paperwork and delivered the bundles.

"It's like Christmas," Senior Airman Ashley Carandang, who works in the orderly room at 4th Combat Camera Squadron.

Airman Carandang will deliver her first baby--a boy--at the end of November. The clothing and supplies she received at Bundles for Babies are the first she's received.

Nikki Lange, wife of Senior Airman Christopher Lange, 452nd Civil Engineering Squadron, drove to the class from her home in Crestline, Calif. Although she is expecting her third child, she said seeing the cumulative cost of raising a child was surprising.

"I knew it was expensive but seeing the numbers over a whole lifetime really hits you," she said.

Lange's advice to first time parents is not to take anything for granted. "It all goes by really quickly. Before you know it, they're not babies anymore."

This is the third Bundles for Babies class Fioretta has organized since she took the position as director last year. The next Bundles for Babies class will be held August 16. All expectant Team March parents are welcome to attend, including active duty, Reserve, Guard, DOD civilians in all branches of service.

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