Stoic mindset. What do I need? Cut out all the other superfluous bullshit.
Discussion
I'm pretty minimalist myself in terms of material possessions so I feel that.
If you have younger kids, I'd advocate for spending on experiences. I believe that child psychologists say something like you essentially plot their quest for learning between the ages of 6-12. So taking them on adventures and developing intellectual curiosity would be the top of my list.
Now that my kids are grown, I spend on travel. I like experiencing other people, cultures, and places. I'm a firm believer in people that do very little traveling (even if it is just within the States), typically end up being misinformed and have poor viewpoints.
kids grow in free space with guidance ime, not too much monitoring by all the monitors which seem to be exponentially growing everywhere
Totally agree. I grew up free range (LOL) as a Gen Xer and definitely believe that is why I developed the way I did. I gave my kids the same latitude to get out an explore. If you're doing the right things elsewhere, they will respect that and see that exponential growth as you said versus kids with helicopter parents that sheltered them and then hit their 20s and need to be coaxed off the ledge at work when being told anything other than having their asses kissed.