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.

In Iowa, child support is designed to cover a child's basic needs, which include food, clothing, shelter, and education. The Iowa Child Support Guidelines are used to calculate the amount of support, taking into account the income of both parents and the needs of the child. While the guidelines provide a framework for determining child support, they do not explicitly itemize costs such as school supplies, health care, braces, glasses, dental care, uninsured medical expenses, transportation, daycare, and extracurricular activities. These additional expenses are often addressed on a case-by-case basis. Parents are encouraged to discuss and agree upon how to handle these costs, either informally or through a more formal agreement that can be incorporated into the child support order. If parents cannot agree, the court may decide how these costs will be divided. It is important for parents to communicate and potentially seek the assistance of an attorney to ensure that all expected costs are considered and appropriately addressed in the child support arrangement.