Investor Kevin O'Leary said the biggest reason many Americans are waiting to start families comes down to one word: money.
“The reason people don't have kids earlier is they're expensive,” O'Leary said in a Fox interview he shared on X in April, pointing to the rising cost of living and ballooning education expenses as major factors. “We've got a few things to fix ourselves.”
Cost Of Living Pushing Parenthood Later
O'Leary, known as “Mr. Wonderful” from the TV show “Shark Tank,” reflected on his own experience as a father and said he wishes he had started earlier.
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“What you learn in life is, when you get older, you realize you wish you had your kids earlier,” he said. “Family is the best thing you can get in America. If I could go back in time, I would have had them a decade earlier.”
He added that today's economic climate makes it difficult for young people to take that step sooner, not because of a lack of interest, but because of affordability. “Education is extremely expensive,” he said.
When asked about the Trump administration's push for policies like baby bonuses and fertility incentives aimed at boosting the U.S. birth rate, O'Leary threw in a joke about Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk.
“I think Elon's doing a great job making up for the rest of us,” he said. “I think he's on kid 14 now. Good for him.”
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How Much Does It Really Cost To Raise A Child?
O'Leary's point isn't off-base; raising a child in the U.S. today is a serious financial commitment. The Brookings Institution estimates it now costs $310,605 to raise a child to age 17 in a typical middle-income household with two children. That's a major jump from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 2015 estimate of $233,610.
Several factors contribute to the increase. According to Investopedia, housing remains the biggest expense, taking up about a third of a household's income. Food can account for up to 24%, depending on location and diet. Childcare costs vary widely but can eat up 7% to 23% of household budgets. And none of those figures include college. Average in-state tuition at public universities is now nearly $25,000 a year. Private institutions? Over $58,000.
Parents can ease some of the burden through tax benefits like the child tax credit and college savings tools such as 529 plans. But even with those in play, the financial pressure remains intense.
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