Broke 'Rents Crack Down on Kids' Sprees

What to do with a 10-year-old daughter who insists—insists!—on designer 'jeggings' for fall? "Manage expectations," advises the Wall Street Journal in a feature on suddenly cash-strapped middle income parents and their "costly" kids. Today's children face a real drop in their standard of living, writes Sue Shellengarger, and it's up to their parents to guide them through this "painful" shift.

A middle-income family can expect to spend $222,360 to raise a baby born in 2009 to age 18, the Journal notes, plus college. And while "painful' is clearly a matter of perspective (many kids have more to worry about than fashion), we'd all be wise to heed the advice of the 10-year fashionista whose mom sold clothes so she could shop: "We have to make choices with our money." (While we cut back, some politicians are spending like it's 2007. Click here to read more.)