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 Wisconsin, child support is designed to cover the basic needs of a child, which includes food, clothing, shelter, and education. The state uses a percentage of income standard for calculating child support, which considers the non-custodial parent's income and the number of children being supported. While the basic child support payment is meant to cover everyday expenses related to raising a child, additional costs such as health care, dental care, vision care, extracurricular activities, and child care may not be explicitly outlined in the statutes. Wisconsin law does provide for the possibility of additional expenses being shared by the parents, which can include medical expenses and child care costs. These are often addressed in the initial child support order or through subsequent modifications. Parents are encouraged to discuss and agree upon how to handle these additional expenses and may seek the assistance of an attorney or mediator if they cannot reach an agreement on their own. In cases of dispute, the court may decide how these costs are to be divided between the parents.