United States President Donald Trump's latest tariffs are making it harder for parents to take care of their kids, causing a lot of costs to go up.
Based on data from BabyCenter, it costs roughly $20,000 every year to take care of a baby in the U.S. This number is expected to go up following Trump's new tariffs that were announced on Apr. 2, 2025.
Donald Trump's Recently Announced Tariffs
After markets plunged, the Republican leader reversed some tariffs on Wednesday but then decided to increase tariffs on China to 125%. He also maintained a 10% baseline tariff on goods from almost every other country.
The tariffs will affect a wide variety of goods in the U.S., and experts and advocates expressed concern, particularly for baby items. These include cribs and strollers, which are primarily manufactured overseas, mainly in China.
These are items that are not considered optional for taking care of kids, as Martha Gimbel, the executive director and co-founder of the Budget Lab at Yale, said babies need to sleep somewhere, according to Vox.
Even after Trump announced the reversal of some of the tariffs, parents could still be forced to contend with various price increases for smaller items. The Budget Lab is responsible for analyzing the impact of federal policy proposals and estimated that the tariffs could cost the average household $3,800 per year.
This particular cost could hit families particularly hard during the early years of parenthood, which is already a time that is considered financially challenging. White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai said that the administration works to maintain regular contact with business leaders, industry groups, and everyday Americans.
Potential Effects on Families
In a Wednesday post on Truth Social, Trump said, "BE COOL! Everything is going to work out well. The USA will be bigger and better than ever before!" The situation comes as the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated the average cost of raising a child born in 2015 to be roughly $233,000, USA Today reported.
A poll in January 2025 showed that one in eight mothers said they were concerned about rising costs because of Trump's tariffs. Lauren LaCross, a senior research analyst at BabyCenter, noted that a lot of moms were more worried about the already expensive costs of daily goods and inflation.
Leo Feler, a chief economist for consumer research firm Numerator, said that American consumers will bear the brunt of the tariffs' effects. He said that the U.S. imports roughly $3 trillion worth of goods, which will be taxed, as per ABC News.
