Price is Right Game

According to USDA 2013 reports, the projected cost of raising a child 0-2 years old is $12,940 per year. In 2015, the USDA reported that the cost of raising a child (from birth to age 17) can be approximately $233,610. These estimates can be shocking and even overwhelming, and we want to start conversations about preparation for parenthood and how local resources (like pregnancy resource centers) can help provide assistance to parents (especially our student peers!).

Putting the cost of parenthood into perspective can help motivate peers to donate to your pregnancy resource center (PRC) or to contribute to gifts for pregnant students at your school. You can make this fun by making a guessing game out of these costs, giving prizes for the right guesses, and later revealing the overall costs.

Step-By-Step Guide

Discuss the end goal of this display. In what context are you hosting this game, and what’s your end goal?
1. Is this for a meeting? This can be set up as a Power Point guessing game, written out on a teacher’s board, displayed on posters, or simply read aloud from cards. It can be an eye opening discussion for high school student leaders.
2. Is this paired with an event? We highly encourage that you pair this project with a donation drive. This approach is a positive, solution-oriented response to the challenges that parents face. If you are doing a donation drive, be sure to check out our activity guide here.
Pick your baby products and decide on an estimate cost (or price range).
1. Top baby costs, and how to save (Baby Center)
2. A calculator for baby’s first year expenses
3. Newborn Checklist- How Much Do Baby Essentials Cost? (Millennial Personal Finance)
4. Cost of Raising a Child Calculator (Baby Center)
Design your display. Whether you choose to do a Power Point (for a meeting) or some larger display item (for a campus outreach), assign members to complete the tasks.
1. Assign someone to check your prices and any statistics that you use.
2. Assign members to purchase or collect materials for creating the display.
3. Set dates to finish your Power Point or display in advance of the meeting or event, so that your group can review the project together.
Add incentives. Get some candy or other sweet treats as a reward for participants who guess the correct prices (or price ranges). If needed, make a limit to max. number of treats distributed per participants so that you don’t have 1 or 2 people hogging all the candy!
Coordinate your events. If you are pairing this with a donation drive, make sure that you have materials and promotional items for both activities.
Reserve space. If this is a campus outreach event, you may need to reserve tabling space. Pick a time, date, and location that will receive good traffic, and assign 2+ members to facilitate the project throughout your reserved time.
Have fun!

Helpful Graphics

While individual item prices can make for interesting discussion, it’s helpful to see the full picture of how these costs add up over the years. The USDA outlined the costs of raising a child (birth through age 17) in “Expenditures on Children by Families, 2015.”