Price Quote: 1 Child, Year 1- $10,158

At the Baby Cost Calculator website, you can calculate how much your baby's first year with cost you. I chose the default responses and will supposedly spend $10,158 on my first child. The quote included the basic items. For example, a stroller was included, the jogging stroller, the "Snap On" stroller frame, and the double stroller was not included in the estimate.

With the birth of a child as one of the most life changing events in a persons life, parents take great pride in their children. Parents, especially new parents, have a tendency to equate quality with price tags and believe their children should have "only the best."



Gregory Karp recently wrote an article on the topic of baby spending and says,"The things that people are led to believe they need, when they really don't, just amazes me. There's a little gadget for everything. About 90 percent of that stuff you don't need."

To the left is a picture of Nicole Richie with the Orbit Travel System. "Travel System" is a fancy way of saying a $900 stroller. After researching reviews etc, I see that it is marketed as a car seat, stroller, and toddler seat, and therefore, is considered a deal by some. However, I would argue the Orbit Travel System is more of a status symbol than a combo car seat and stroller.

One of my friends had her first baby last year, and is pregnant again with baby number 2. In preparation for her first baby, she did a baby registry. Although it was the first baby registry I'd seen, baby registries are common and are available at countless retailers, including Pottery Barn Kids, Target, Babies R Us, and even Amazon.com. Hundreds and hundreds of products are available including Diaper Genie's, bottle warmers, etc. With a blog posting saying 176 items is "not too many."

My observations sum up to the business of babies, or the enormous market created around baby products. For marketers, this is some sort of dream. Consumer spending more money on products to not only provide for the child, but give them the very best on the market.

For consumers, it is important to do one's best to made decisions as rational as possible for a new, nervous parent. There are many consumer guides out there to help with such purchase decisions. I would recommend, however, that it is important to separate a consumer guide from an advertiser's recommendation. In other words, I believe that the best consumer guides are not sponsored or affiliated in any way by corporations doing their best to sell more products.