The price parents pay: It costs more than ever --$13K a year -- to raise your kid

The ballooning price tag, a 3 percent increase from a year earlier, comes at a time when day-care costs can exceed university tuitions and homes prices have skyrocketed to record highs. Families in urban areas in the Northeast, such as New York and Boston, were likely to pay even more -- an average of $253,770, or roughly $14,000 a year --because of higher housing and child-care costs, according to a report by the Department of Agriculture.

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Back when the report debuted in 1960, child-care and education costs accounted for 2 percent of total child-rearing expenses. Today they make up 16 percent as more women have entered the workforce. The average cost for full-time child care now exceeds $9,500 per child annually, according to a recent report by Washington-based think tank New America. Health-care costs have also increased over the years, as families pay larger insurance premiums and face higher drug costs, Lino said. State governments use the report's findings to create guidelines for child support and foster care.