Child support is generally intended to help with the costs of raising the child—including food, clothing, shelter, and education—but laws vary from state to state and are often unclear on the extent to which child support payments are intended to help the custodial parent pay for half of school supplies, health care, braces, glasses, dental care, uninsured medical care, transportation (car), daycare, sports camps, cheerleading camps, school trips, social activities, and extracurricular activities.

Most state laws (statutes) don’t identify the specific child-rearing costs to which the custodial parent is required to contribute payment from child support and other resources—and because these issues are frequently the source of parental conflict, parents should identify all expected future costs and agree to the process for sharing them.

Childcare expenses incurred by the custodial parent are generally not required to be paid by the noncustodial parent in addition to child support—unless the childcare is required for the custodial parent’s work, training, or school—in which case the noncustodial parent may be required to pay for 50% of the childcare, for example.

In Mississippi, child support is designed to cover the basic needs of the child, which includes food, clothing, shelter, and education. The state's child support guidelines do not typically itemize specific child-rearing expenses such as school supplies, health care, braces, glasses, dental care, uninsured medical care, transportation, daycare, and extracurricular activities. However, Mississippi law does recognize that child support should be sufficient to maintain the children's standard of living. The custodial parent is not generally required to account for how child support payments are spent. Childcare costs necessary for the custodial parent to work, undergo training, or attend school may be shared by the noncustodial parent, often resulting in the noncustodial parent being responsible for a portion of these costs, which could be up to 50%. To avoid conflicts, it is advisable for parents to discuss and agree upon the handling of additional child-rearing expenses outside of the standard child support arrangement. An attorney can provide guidance on how to formalize such agreements.