Answer: Child support is not a run-of-the-mill debt. It’s a family support obligation, and one of the few debts that can land you in jail if you ignore it.

That’s because the welfare of your kids is at stake. The Internal Revenue Service will still be able to carry on if you negotiate a settlement or discharge some of your debt in bankruptcy, but skipping your child support obligations could doom your children to poverty, poor health and a host of other ills.

Although you can’t erase your obligation in bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing — which involves a payment plan — may enable you to catch up on any missed payments. A bankruptcy attorney can provide details.

In any case, the ability to erase a debt in bankruptcy isn’t among the criteria for reporting debts to credit bureaus. Other debts that typically can’t be discharged, such as student loans, also show up on credit reports.

Answer: Congratulations in advance on your entry into the great adventure of parenthood. The most important thing to know is that you can’t predict what’s ahead, financially or otherwise.

The U.S. Agriculture Department estimates that it will cost middle-income parents nearly $300,000 to raise a child to age 18. But your costs could be a lot less if you’re particularly frugal, or a lot more, particularly if you have a high income, plan to pay for private school or have a child with special needs.

You can get some idea of what to expect by using the Agriculture Department’s new calculator at www.cnpp.usda.gov/calculatorintro.htm.

Your annual food, clothing and healthcare bills typically rise $3,000 or more with each child. You also may opt for a bigger home or car, which can add to the bill. Child care and education are other considerable expenses.

Then there are the set-up costs. The authors of “Baby Bargains,” one of my favorite books about preparing for a child, say you easily can spend more than $6,000 just on equipment such as strollers, car seats, maternity clothes and nursery care. If you’re smart, however, you’ll try to spend a lot less, buying or borrowing used furniture and selecting well-reviewed, midrange brands of strollers and car seats rather than status brands.

You’d be smart to start trimming other expenses now and saving the difference, so that you have a fund to pay these start-up costs and so that the added expenses of a child don’t push you into debt.

If one of you is planning to stay home with the baby for an extended time, consider starting to live on one income now and banking the other.

Oh, what I didn’t know.

Actually, in hindsight, the advice holds up pretty well, mainly because I relied on money-smart parents like Janet Bodnar, now editor of Kiplinger’s magazine, and Steve Rhode, the Get Out of Debt guy.

But kids’ appreciation and understanding of money constantly evolves, so I’m always on the lookout for more great advice and ideas. Here are a few good blog posts on kids and money that I’ve run across recently and that I hope you’ll enjoy:

• Bargain Babe has frugal summer activities for kids.
• Why Moolanomy advises “Never say ‘we can’t afford it.’ “
• CitySpur offers “10 tips on how to explain money problems to your preschooler” that work for older kids, too.
• BeingFrugal.net explains “How I taught my preschooler the value of a dollar” (and also gets some great suggestions from readers on end-of-the-school-year presents in “You tell me: Teacher gifts“).

And here are my “5 money lessons for preschoolers” and Melinda Fulmer’s segmented-by-age “What kids need to know about money.”