Child support is a crucial aspect to many divorce agreements not just because it helps a spouse who may not be fully able to cover certain expenses for a child, but because the child needs the financial resources to learn, grow and become the person that he or she wants to become. And yet, there are some people that think child support should only apply for a finite number of costs.

This is a myth. Child support can actually cover a wide range of costs, activities and financial matters so that the child isn’t left without certain materials or in need of basic necessities. So what does child support cover? Let’s count the ways this provision can help families who have gone through divorce:

• Basic necessities, as we mentioned above, are central to child support payments. The payments can be used for housing, clothes, food, internet, utilities and other bills.
• Medical care and education are two crucial costs that child support can cover. Does you child have a doctor’s appointment? What about a visit to the optometrist? These are covered under child support. Your child’s education, too, can be covered by child support. Tuition, school materials (such as pencils, binders, books, etc.) and other costs relating to education can be paid for with child support.
• The occasional night out; movies and videos games; after school activities and sports teams; all of these “entertainment” factors can also be paid for with child support.

Source: FindLaw, “What Does Child Support Cover?,” Accessed Aug. 10, 2016