The Unexpected Gift We Forget to Give Our Children

This time of year always makes me think back to when my daughter was born.

Maybe it’s the lights going up, the tiredness after a long year, or the quiet pressure to get Christmas “right.”
But something about the season pulls me back to those early days - the soft moments, the sleepless nights, and the overwhelming instinct to give her everything she could ever need - without somehow spoiling her too much.

And I remember buying a few toys, a few outfits, a few things to make the moment feel complete.

But I also did something else - something most people don’t think about until much later.

I opened two investment accounts.

Not because I was trying to be clever.
Not because I had it all figured out.
But because a simple thought crossed my mind:

Children value our time far more than the things we buy them.
And with the right habits, we can give them time twice - now, and in their future.

The First Kind of Time

We’re nearing the end of another long year.
Most people are tired.
Stretched.
A little overwhelmed.

And when Christmas is around the corner, it’s easy - almost automatic - to grab a toy off the shelf.
Something to light up their eyes.
Something to keep them busy for a few minutes so you can breathe.

There’s nothing wrong with that.
Toys matter.
Childhood joy matters.
And sometimes, a few quiet minutes for a parent matter just as much.

But children rarely remember the toy.
They remember you.
The moments you sat with them.
The moments you played, talked, or simply noticed them.

This is the first kind of time - presence.
And it’s a gift we underestimate far too often.

The Second Kind of Time

There’s another kind of time we can give them - and this one doesn’t get spoken about enough.

It’s the time we quietly buy for their future.

Those first two accounts I opened for my daughter weren’t impressive.
A small step.
A simple start.

But something powerful happens when small contributions meet long timelines - especially in the hands of someone who has decades of life ahead of them. A simple contribution that increases slightly each year.

A Tax Free Savings Account that grows tax-free. I can leave it for 18+ years - one I can hand over when she’s mature enough to steward it well.

A Retirement Annuity that compounds from birth to 55 or longer. This one really got some of my friends chuckling…at first. Then I showed them the numbers and shared the thought behind it. Now most of them have it implemented for their children as well through our wealth planning business.

This is time in another form.
Time that becomes:
• freedom
• security
• choice
• options
• a very different starting point in adulthood

It’s the kind of time we wish someone had given us. The gift of arriving in adulthood with options instead of obstacles.

A Simple Example (R1 000. That’s roughly $50 for our global readers)

R1 000 per month
10% increase every year
10% growth

By age 18:
= R1 185 823 (That’s about $59 000)

By age 55 (if they keep the habit):
= R133 623 669 (That’s about $6.7 million)

The numbers are big, but the principle is simple:

Toys vs Time

Every parent knows the moment.
Standing in the aisle, exhausted, thinking:

“I’ll just buy this. It’ll keep them busy for a while.”

And it will.
There’s value in that.

But maybe this year - after a long, demanding season - it’s worth remembering the bigger gift.
The one that lasts beyond Christmas morning.
The one that shapes their adulthood long after the toys fade.

The gift of time.

Time with you now.

And time you quietly secure for them later.

Both matter.
But only one compounds.

A Final Thought

What would your life look like today
if someone had started a simple habit for you on the day you were born?

And what could your children’s lives look like
if you started that habit for them now?

Because this -
the gift of time, the habits that compound, the quiet choices that build freedom -
this is what true wealth creation really is.

It’s not loud.
It’s not flashy.
It’s not about buying more.

It’s intergenerational planning in its purest form.
It’s leadership your children will feel long before they understand it.
It’s a parent saying:
“I’ll give you a future and choices I never had.”

And if you didn’t start when they were born -
whether life got in the way or no one ever helped you see the opportunity -
the next best time is now.

Because time is still on their side.
And you still hold the ability to turn it into a gift they’ll carry for decades. And if you use it right, it becomes a practical, tangible tool you can use to teach them principles many people never learned - something that belongs to them when you bring them into broader wealth-planning discussions, helping them build a family dynasty.

That’s the unexpected gift we forget to give our children.
And it might be the one they value most…now and years after now.

Until next time, stay calm - and if life has changed, let’s talk.

This newsletter is intended for educational and marketing purposes only with examples intended to simplify potentially complex scenarios. For full disclaimer, please see https://www.grofinsolutions.com/succeed-with-hennie-newsletter-disclaimer/