Baby’s First Summer

Imagine everything that a baby absorbs: you show him a beach ball, play in the sand, take him for a ride in your arms in the pool, cover his head with that funny-looking hat while lathering his soft, sensitive skin with baby lotion and sun block that smells pure, sweet, it’s baby skin in summer.

Babies are so helpless, so dependent on us for everything. Food, clothing, shelter, a loving family—all the necessities in life. And more often, an education is going to be a necessity on that list. Babies won’t have the best start in life without an equal opportunity to get an education as their counterparts will have.

Baby’s first summer cannot be complete without mom & dad planning for his future.

No longer can you say “There’s plenty of time! I don’t need to start thinking about paying for college for at least 5 or 10 years!” The world has changed. The economy, stock market, unemployment rates, mortgage crisis, credit crunch, etc. have shown all of us that we don’t know what the future holds. What you do know is you have to protect yourself. You have to take action.

If you have a newborn infant under 1 year of age you still have time to enroll in College Illinois!. She’s not saying a word yet, not even “mama” or “dada”, certainly not “tuition bills.” You are in the best possible position to make an impact on her future. You have the benefit of time on your side. A College Illinois! 529 Pre-Paid Tuition Plan allows you to purchase tuition at today’s prices, protecting her and yourself from tuition inflation.

It’s a smart, secure way to know that you have college paid for; it’s peace of mind because your coverage will never change & is not dependent on the stock market.

Baby needs smart planning that can weather the storm in the future. Remove the doubt of uncertainty. Buy now, save big money in the future. It doesn’t matter if she will grow up to be an architect, a musician, a writer or a teacher. What matters is that she develops her skill set & she gets her education.

It’s a paradox: 18 years from now a college degree will be the minimum standard, yet paying for it seems like it’s hardly worth the price, whatever the price will be. Even so, all the experts-- including educators, sociologists, career counselors, and those who study trends in education and the job sector-- continue to reinforce what we already know in our hearts: getting an education will be a non-negotiable, critical, must-have in the future. You may be able to take a chance on some things in life but you can’t gamble on an education. You have to bank on it.

What do you think of when you think about infants? That wonderful baby smell? Or changing diapers throughout the day? How about her first laugh? Or her crying throughout the night? If you think about the hope, potential and promise a newborn baby gives to the world, then think about her walking down the aisle one day. Not the marriage aisle! The aisle to shake the Dean’s hand as she receives her diploma & begins the first day of the rest of her professional life.

Amy S.