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Bringing up a child today is full of dilemmas. We are blessed with a multitude of information, choice and options for our children – more than any other generation has experienced. But has all this choice resulted in us overloading our children?

From birth, there are endless activities and toys for your child. From baby swimming classes, to baby gym sessions, tiny tot music classes, jolly jumpers and tummy time contraptions, swings and rockers with lots of colourful toys – our children are spoilt for choice. And so are our wallets!

One year old birthday parties have become almost like organizing a wedding! From bouncy castles, to personalised, handcrafted invitations to clowns, an animal farm or a magician, it is no wonder the parents are often exhausted and sometimes poorer for the experience.

It seems that in the never-ending quest to keep up with society, our children are being exposed to so much more than their parents or grandparents ever were. And this gets worse as our children get older. After school activities may include music lessons, sports and art classes. Weekends are spent ferrying our kids back and forth from various appointments and gatherings. School excursions are a trip to France or Japan – gone are the days where they would be a simple night away in your local area!

Where are the quiet times at home with the grandparents, or just enjoying family time together?

Do our kids need to be stimulated or exposed to so many experiences all the time?

Whatever happened to just “growing up”; playing in the park and family game nights?

At the end of the day, what is important is the family unit and family values. The best gift we can give our children is the values of respect, love, honesty, integrity and responsibility. And time together.

Here’s hoping that in all the “noise” of our modern day lives, these core values don’t get lost.

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