Being a parent has never been easy and parents have always had to find ways to pay for all the costs of raising a child. While financial challenges have always existed for parents, today’s young parents are facing an exceptionally difficult set of circumstances. Parents who are part of the so-called “millennial generation” are trying to manage raising families at a time when costs are rising while wages are falling, or at best, stagnant.
Of particular concern are child-care costs, which include day care and education. These costs have escalated to the point of comprising 18 percent of the amount it takes to raise a child, and this does not even include costs for college. To put this in perspective, these same costs represented only two percent of parenting expenses in 1960.
Even more shocking is that, according to an organization called Child Care Aware of America, in many states, the cost of child-care is actually higher than that of housing. This is made all the more daunting when you factor in the employment situation faced by many millennials. A report released by Young Invincibles states that more and more younger workers, including those who have college degrees, are getting stuck in low-wage jobs,
While such conditions are trying for two-parent households, the situation is that much more dire for single parents. The fact is, today’s young parent typically needs every dollar available to make ends meet. This means that if a parent is entitled to receive child support, those payments are critical and the obligation of the other parent should be met.
If you are a young parent whose financial struggles are being exacerbated by the failure of your child’s other parent to make support payments, you may wish to discuss the matter with a Texas family law attorney. There is a variety of measures that can be taken to correct the situation. The attorney could go over your options and work to help you get the payments you are owed.