first, I'm not an insurance sales-person so I don't get anything for maintaining this position.

I understand it's to replace income - but there could be serious expenses incurred by illness, hospitalization, etc. not to mention a decent burial for your child should the unthinkable happen.

Unless you're independently wealthy, and have amazing health care benefits, I still think it's prudent to expend a few dollars a month for life insurance for your children.

My mother bought one of those life insurance policies for me when I was born. I've added to it a few times, and it's up to something like $25K now. As someone who's made lifestyle choices that make me hard to insure (skydiver/pilot/ride a motorcycle/scuba), it's nice to not have to jump through the hoops some of my friends have to get a policy.

...but they don't always grow up and buy insurance. My mother bought insurance policies for both my brother and I when we were little, and it's the only life insurance either of us has. For my brother, who has a wife and three kids, it's really important that he has that $25,000 now, because he can't afford to buy any for himself. So, you might consider it an investment in thier future, so they will have it if they don't, can't, or won't buy it for themselves, or even better, an investment in your grandchildren's future, because they are the ones that are really going to benefit, especially if it is the only insurance thier parents have.

It is a complete waste of money. Whatever funds you would have spent on the policy, if put into an s+p fund, would yield you and your family a much better result.

Your friend who told you that life insurance should be used to replace income is correct.

You made the right choice. It's a no brainer.

I didn't know that my son would have what's probably Aspergers. He's years behind in his ability to take care of himself - he might never be able to keep a job. Our daughter was an extreme preemie - no idea how things will go there, but she's got insurance.

When my dad died, my mom entered a long, long cycle of depression. It's one thing to have to pay for funeral costs - it's another to have to have the resources to keep going, to go long enough to get out of the darkness if you lose someone so incredibly precious to you. I hope it won't be me who has to endure the loss of my kids, and I hope that the insurance moneys will help whoever needs the support when I can't be there to hold them myself.

...and in some parts of the country, and in some demographic groups, the life expectancy of young people isn't as high as it should be. For these families, life insurance for children makes horrifying sense.

I have 5 children. I was able to buy $10,000 of TERM life insurance for all but one child at a cost of $25 a year (one child was already considered uninsurable at age 10). I can't invest $25 a year and have it add up to the cost of a funeral - which can easily run $5,000 to $10,000. When they turn 25 they can take over the policy themselves and increase the value if they need more. Or perhaps I'll just keep paying so I know I always have the money available to pay for a funeral.

Term life insurance is cheap because insurance companies end up paying on only 2% of them. Permanent life insurance is an investment for the future.

If you can afford to pay for a funeral and the time you need off work to grieve, then don't spend the money.

If you want to help set your child up for having a "fall back" in the future, then definitely look into whole life or universal life. Mine has helped pay for college and has loaned me cash for bills when I needed it. And I have enough insurance to pay off every bill and mortgage if I die, so my wife won't have to worry.