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 Mississippi, child support is designed to cover the basic needs of the child, which include food, clothing, shelter, and education. The state's child support guidelines are established under Mississippi Code Section 43-19-101, which provides the framework for calculating child support obligations based on the non-custodial parent's adjusted gross income and the number of children to be supported. While the law sets out the general obligations, it does not provide an exhaustive list of specific expenses such as half of school supplies, health care costs, braces, glasses, dental care, uninsured medical expenses, transportation, daycare, and extracurricular activities. These additional expenses are often addressed on a case-by-case basis, and parents are encouraged to come to an agreement on how to handle these costs. If parents cannot agree, the court may decide based on the best interests of the child. It is important for parents to discuss and possibly include these additional expenses in their child support agreement or seek the advice of an attorney to ensure that all potential costs are considered and appropriately addressed.