Responsibility/Values/Personal Growth

Instead of Paying for Your Child’s College Education, Give Them Something Far More Valuable

Learning the values of responsibility, persistence, and sacrifice is more important than a free ride

Photo by Naassom Azevedo on Unsplash

When I was a 17-year-old high school senior, my father asked me if I’d made any plans concerning what I was going to do after I graduated — his way of asking if I’d found a job.

Our conversation was a follow up to a previous discussion we’d had a few weeks prior. He’d made it clear how important it was for me to continue my education. He added that he thought my goal of wanting to become an electrical engineer was a worthy objective.

But unfortunately, he didn’t have the financial resources to pay for my college education.

The money he made came week-to-week, generated from a small grocery store located in a poorer section of Yuma, Arizona. And based on what he made as a grocer, he couldn’t afford to pick up the additional expenses of college tuition, books, and room and board.

It was simply a matter of economics.