Good luck boys, you have opened a can of worms now. This is a bit of a pet passion for me.
When I was 18 I was earning pretty decent money as a staff trainer for a large call centre and the work was easy as pie. I sat there and coached people on how to do their job better, showed them around ect then I had Tyler and went to living on welfare. You know what the money is shit however I do have the time to pursue other interests, I went to Uni and studied Nursing. I have the time in my day to take care of my family, which is important to me and something I didn't have back then. I want to either be paid ungodly amounts for very little work or I want to be middle class. I want to be comfortable financially but I still want to cook a roast on Sunday afternoon, I want to have the time to do my families laundry and take Tyler to whatever extra curricula activities he decides to take part in.
Private health is a real catch 22 unles your private fund is going to cover everything. I worked at a private hospital for a bit and its crazy what you get charged for (laundering of linen ect) and do you really get any better care from the doctors or the Nursing team? Nope. The food still tastes like heated up cardboard, you still get students, the Nurses are no different and if anything as a Nurse I'd rather work Public solely because I hate pretentious pricks who feel that because they're paying for a private hospital stay that I someone how don't have just as much to do as I would on a Public ward. The ratios are no different, the pay isn't much better, we still don't get our breaks, if anything we're busier because we have KPI's to work to (have to answer call buzzers within 65 seconds ect)
I don't think kids really need everything to feel loved or cared for...if anything i believe you can give your kids TOO much. I grew up in a low socioeconomic family, I didn't get garbage bags full of toys for Christmas or Birthdays but I can tell you right now that my Mother loves me. However I believe it would have been beneficial to grow up in Melbourne.
Kids need good strong role models who can teach them right from wrong, how to respect others, your environment and yourself. As an adult I can't recall a single toy I received but I remember the time my mother spent with me. We didn't go to the cinema, but we went walking or for a drive (before fuel was 1.77 per litre). Don't get me wrong I am all for a good education, and if I was going to spend big $$$ on anything it'd be my sons health and education costs.