Monday, June 20, 2011
The Next 30 Years Thinking Small
It has become abundantly clear to me that I will have to work harder, smarter and make better choices than my parents did to achieve comparable results. Since I have made decent choices and seem to be continuing to do so I'm not that worried about me. Presumably Wifey and I will do pretty OK. However when it comes to Walker I have some concerns. I grew up in a superpower and more likely than not he will grow up in one power among many, certainly a large and rich country but not as large and rich as it used to be. I am sure the risks for only acquiring mediocre skills and making mediocre choices will be far higher for him. I think that like most things the answer is small and local. I can make sure he gets a good education and has access to college or a trade. We can, through positive modeling push him in these directions. We can make sure that he values education and knows how to handle money. We can also teach him some useful life skills. I guess beyond that it will be up to him. However since his biggest dilemma right now is the fact that he wants to feed himself and is unable to do so effectively (drops stuff and smashes it all over the place) we've got awhile to worry about his path as an adult. However we have started funding his college so it isn't that far away. Like a lot of big goals the key to that seems to be planning. We have done the math and it is certainly doable for us assuming an average income. However if we did like so many parents and started thinking about it at 17 we would be hosed. Prior planning prevents piss poor performance.
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3 comments:
Current generation of parents tends to focus on being their child's "buddy." Our role is provider, mentor, protector, and exemplar... playmate is nowhere in that job description.
While it is important to relate to our children, so the message can ring true - loud and clear, it is not necessary to stay on their level.
Lately, society has placed too much emphasis on political correctness, liberal education, and "getting along" and not enough on real learning, with precious little attention paid to developing character.
I'm curious on your math. Are you saving for the amount a college degree costs today? Or are you taking into account the yearly increases in tuition that have outpaced normal inflation? Or are you just saving what you can and will wait to see how it compares to tuition costs in 18 years?
Ah yes, the six P's of Prior Planning, etc. I make 'em the seven P's by starting with the word "proper" instead of prior. But then I happen to think Murphy was an optomist. Your mileage may vary.
H
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