What’s your greatest wish in life for your kids?

My husband and I were talking the other day about setting our 1-year-old on the right path towards a fulfilling life. To him, this meant picking the right school for our daughter and making sure that she chooses the right courses in school. From there, it is up to her to work towards a promising career that will provide for all her needs and desires in life.

Then we started talking about possible career options that she could choose from in the future. Do we want her to go for a conventional career that is ‘safe’ and highly regarded such as that of a doctor, accountant and lawyer? What if she chooses to be ‘different’ from the rest by aspiring to be a dancer, photographer or an artist?

I ended the discussion by telling my dear hubby this: “How about we let her choose what she wants to be, depending on where her passion and talents lie? After all, who are we to say that conventional careers trump the rest? Who knows, she might even choose both a conventional AND unconventional career — like be a full-time accountant and part-time dancer, or the other way round”.

Life — it’s about the things that matter most to you

I’m pretty sure that my daughter will get to this role-playing stage soon!

And so I came up with this conclusion: At the end of the day, what matters most is that our daughter is happy with what she’s doing, and is inspired to give her best.

By giving her the assurance that we, as her parents, are on her side when it comes to her decisions to follow dreams and passions, it is more likely that she’ll feel comfortable telling us about the things that are going on in her life.

I believe this goes a long way to strengthen our bond and relationship with her, even when she’s all grown up. Because after all, beyond money and power, life is defined by the things that matter most to us: our relationships with the people we care about and our passion for the things that we love.

All that talk about our daughter’s future has set me thinking. Good thing I also got to know about the HSBC Beyond Money event.

All that talk about the ‘what ifs’ of our daughter’s future has inspired me to hear the views of our friends who are also parents themselves.

I’m glad that hubby and I both agree to let our daughter pick her desired career path instead of restricting on what she should be or do when she grows up. Come to think of it, I personally wouldn’t like it if someone were to tell me exactly what I should be doing with my career and personal life, or how my retirement plan should look like — so why would I subject our daughter to the same thing?

I also came to know about an event that’s coming to town, organised by HSBC. Aptly called ‘Beyond Money’, the event will feature a series of motivational sessions that focus on issues of bringing up kids to help them discover their passions, and to reflect on our own plans for the next amazing chapter in life.

HSBC ‘Beyond Money’ event

Dreams, passion and adventure – one of the few things that drive kids to explore the world around them

Some of the topics that will be covered during the Beyond Money event include:

Nurturing your Children

This session closely relates to the discussion that my husband and I had about our daughter’s future. Here, the panel of experts discuss how we, as parents, can give our kids the space and attitude they need to grow and excel ─ and to lead them towards a more fulfilling life.

Reevaluating Retirement

Most of us look forward to a breezy picture of our retirement years, but what do we need to do to help us reach that goal? In this session, we hear the inspiring story on how a retiree embraced this new chapter in life.

Women’s roles today

We mums have rather big shoes to fill these days. Not only are we expected to be a good wife and mother at home, there’s also the need to stay on top of our game at work. It’ll be interesting to find out what the experts have to say about what women can do to take their goals and dreams further, and make their mark in the world.

If you’re wondering what really lies Beyond Money and how you can nurture your kids and help them work towards their greatest dreams and passions in life, be sure to sign up for HSBC’s Beyond Money event. Some of the speakers that will be giving the sessions include Dr Bervyn Lee (Singapore Management University), Mr Thomas Lim (Cancer survivor and grassroots leader), and Ms Irene Boey (Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations).

Below are the event details:

Date: 4^th March 2014 (Tuesday)

Time: 6pm to 9pm

Venue: Gardens by the Bay, Flower Field Hall (next to Flower Dome)

Do head down to the venue early, as registration starts at 6pm. Light refreshments will also be served until 6.45pm.

For more information, visit http://www.hsbc.com.sg/beyond-money. (Do register by 25th February 2014)