The Days Are Long, But The Years Are Short
I remember teaching my son how to ride a bicycle.
For weeks, we practised at the park. There were wobbles, near-falls, and moments when he wanted to give up. Then one day, it happened. He pedalled away on two wheels, and the look of accomplishment on his face is something I still remember today.
Recently, we went for another bicycle ride together. Before we set off, he helped me pump the tyres. As I watched him, I suddenly realised something.
The little boy I once ran behind while holding onto his bicycle seat is now almost a young man.
The days are long, but the years are short.
Childhood Passes Faster Than We Think
Parents know this feeling well.
The sleepless nights feel endless. School runs become routine. Tuition schedules, enrichment classes, CCA commitments and family logistics fill the calendar. In the midst of it all, it can feel as though childhood will last forever.
Then one day, you look up.
Primary school has become secondary school. Conversations about playdates become conversations about subject combinations. Before long, discussions turn to university courses, future careers and the next stage of life.
The years pass quietly while we are busy living them.
The Challenge of Education Planning
One reason education planning is difficult is because it feels distant.
When children are young, university is almost impossible to imagine. There are more immediate concerns competing for attention—school fees, childcare, tuition, mortgage payments, retirement planning and the countless expenses that come with raising a family.
University feels like a problem for another day.
But that is precisely why many families underestimate how quickly the time passes.
Time Is Every Parent's Greatest Asset
The good news is that education planning benefits from something incredibly powerful: time.
Parents often assume they need large sums of money to prepare for their children's future. In reality, consistency is often more important than size. Small amounts set aside regularly over many years can grow into meaningful resources.
The earlier the journey begins, the more options become available later.
Most parents do not wake up one day and decide to pay for university. They prepare for it gradually—a little each month, year after year.
The challenge is not usually affordability. The challenge is getting started early enough.
When children are young, parents possess something that cannot be bought back later: time. Time allows savings to accumulate. Time allows investments to grow. Time reduces the pressure of having to find a large sum all at once when university arrives.
The goal is not perfection.
The goal is simply to start while time is still on your side.
Education Planning Is Really About Choice
When people hear the phrase "education planning", they often think about university fees.
But I think it is about something much bigger.
It is about creating choices.
Perhaps your child chooses a local university. Perhaps they pursue an overseas degree. Perhaps they start a business, follow a creative path, or discover a passion nobody anticipated.
The goal is not to decide their future.
The goal is to ensure that finances do not unnecessarily limit their opportunities.
Financial preparation does not guarantee success. Neither does it determine the path a child will eventually take.
What it can do is provide flexibility when opportunities arise.
Every Parent Wants the Same Thing
Most parents I meet are not trying to raise the next CEO, surgeon or Nobel Prize winner.
They simply want their children to have opportunities.
They want them to discover their gifts. They want them to pursue meaningful work. They want them to step into adulthood with confidence and purpose.
And if possible, they want to remove some of the financial obstacles along the way.
Stewardship for the Next Generation
As parents, we cannot walk every step of our children's journey for them.
We cannot sit for their examinations. We cannot make their choices. We cannot determine their future.
What we can do is prepare.
We can steward today's resources wisely so that future opportunities remain available when they arrive.
One day, the child who needed help learning to ride a bicycle may be preparing for university, starting a career, or building a family of their own.
And when that day comes, we will wonder where all the years went.
The days are long.
But the years are short.
If your child was born today, what opportunities would you hope they have twenty years from now?
Whatever your answer, the time to begin preparing is probably earlier than you think.
Because when it comes to raising children, there is one truth every parent eventually discovers:
The days are long.
But the years are short.
