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 New York, child support is designed to cover a child's basic needs including food, clothing, shelter, and education. The New York Child Support Standards Act provides a formula for calculating child support payments based on the parents' combined income and the number of children. While the law outlines the basic components of child support, it does not explicitly list every specific expense such as school supplies, health care costs, or extracurricular activities. However, additional expenses such as health insurance premiums, unreimbursed medical expenses, and childcare costs related to the custodial parent's employment, education, or training can be ordered by the court to be shared by the parents. The division of these costs is often determined during the child support proceeding and may be subject to negotiation between the parents. If parents cannot agree on the sharing of these costs, the court may intervene to make a determination based on the best interests of the child. It is advisable for parents to discuss and agree upon the handling of anticipated child-rearing expenses to prevent future conflicts.