BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Richard Gearhart, an economics professor at CSUB, says that within a three month span, there’s an estimated 10% increase in the price of clothes, 6% increase in furniture such as cribs, 5.5% in utensils and cupware, and 5% in general electronic appliances such as baby monitors and breast pumps.
“I would call these tariffs a tax on new parents,” said Gearhart. “New parents have been estimated to spend about $6,000 or more per year just because of the tariffs.”
You may think: “Well, why not just buy items from domestic businesses?”
Gearhart says, “What we’ve also found is that even if the product is made in the United States completely, they are raising their prices, too. It’s just natural supply and demand.”
The Bakersfield Pregnancy Center, which provides free pregnancy tests, parenting classes, material support, and more, says they’ve already felt the impact of tariffs– specifically on car seats.
“Car seats are one of the things that we offer to clients who come to our parenting classes. And they have to be brand new. One of the organizations that we purchase car seats from no longer carries the brand that we have been using for years and years,” said Erin Rogers, the executive director of the Bakersfield Pregnancy Center.
She says they've had to spend twice as much on comparable car seats.
“We’re talking a difference between $59 to now $120. For a nonprofit like us, that’s a significant impact because we operate on the donations of our community,” said Rogers. “It’s really making us rethink how we’re going to do this, if our funds start running out for that area.”
This doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t start a family, but rather to take tariffs into account.
Gearhart also suggests purchasing used clothing and joining local social media parent groups.
“Start planning for the costs of childcare,” said Gearhart. “They will shock you with how costly they are, in part related to staffing ratios for babies or newborns in childcare facilities. So you’re looking at $1,500-$1,600 a month. Start budgeting for that and start making sure that you can afford to take time off of work because your child will get sick relatively frequently.”
The Bakersfield Pregnancy Center encourages new and expecting parents to reach out by calling 661-326-1907 for additional resources.
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