#PNCBank #NamingRights #RaisingChildren #CostOfRaisingChildren #parents #children
A child graduates from his or her school.
Instead of announcing him or her by name as he or she gets a diploma, the master of ceremonies announces the name of the company who bought the rights to that child’s name. The parents in the audience cheer.
Farfetched? PNC Bank is using that scenario in an ad to show how desperate parents are to cover the cost of raising children.
PNC Bank, of course, suggests better ways to improve a family’s financial position.
The idea of selling the rights to a person’s name to a company comes from the naming of stadiums and arenas, where sponsorship makes more sense.
But the ad highlights a deeper problem. It’s getting more difficult financially to raise children today than in past decades.
On top of that, it’s getting more difficult for those children, once they become adults, to leave home because they are not making enough money to live independently.
In past decades, it was a parent’s goal for his or her children to live better than he or she did.
Today, for many generations, that is almost impossible.
The cost of food, energy, housing etc. has gotten out of reach for many people, regardless of background.
Raising a child requires a lot of investment. If they play sports, or participate in other activities, there are often big costs involved. You want your children to pursue activities in which they have skills and interests. Even if they don’t have great skills in those activities, parents recognize that the social interaction, teamwork lessons etc., can be valuable to a child as they grow into adults.
You also want them to feel the joy of holidays with gifts, which also can be expensive.
When you add those things to the necessities of life, even before a post-high-school education, raising a child can drain a family’s finances. When the parents of that child also want to save for their own retirement, in an age in which employer retirement plans are few, dicey financial decisions abound.
As they grow, children can learn to help their families cover their activities through part-time jobs etc. But, if that child plans to pursue higher education, parents will want that child’s earned money to go to that purpose.
Of course, as PNC says, it’s better for a family to have a financial plan with a good adviser the family trusts.
But it’s difficult to blame parents for trying creative ideas to enhance the family’s financial position.
Hard work, good behavior and good character are still the cornerstones of any child’s success.
The toughest parenting job may be to keep the child from getting discouraged when he or she does everything right, yet still doesn’t achieve what he or she wants.
The solution here is to have a plan early in a child’s life, in which savings can accumulate and earn dividends over time, then spending it very selectively at the correct intervals of a child’s life.
If a family is fortunate enough, it can create a separate fund for the parents’ retirement.
Of course, either of those is easier said than done.
But, with some creativity, good advice and discipline, it can be possible.
Peter