Educating children is probably the second most expensive item on a family's list of inevitable things after food and shelter. The cost of taking children through an education right after their birth is a consuming factor that many people have never put into consideration.

Right from the time the little bundles of joy come in, the process of educating them begins. It always begins with hiring a nanny or a house maid to stay with the baby while one makes money. The maids always teach children some things they never forget in life.

However the real deal comes when children start their primary school in Kenya. The expensive affair of paying school fees, buying books, school uniform, transport, food and other school related accessories come in. The public school education in primary schools is not encouraging and parents in their quest to give their children the best are opting for private schools which give more attention to the young ones' early learning.

Secondary school and university education is where the real hurdle is for parents. Currently, it costs an average of Shs 400, 000 to get one child through a good secondary school comfortably and an additional 1 million to give them a good university education. This could be a real problem with all the financial difficulties in the country.

But a parent could start saving for the child's education right from birth. Several insurance companies have policies for this where one contributes a certain amount of money monthly to a kit for a defined period of time. After 'maturity' of the agreed period, the child's education is fully taken care of by the insurance company in terms of school fees and basic school needs.

Most arrangements by these insurance companies have monthly contributions of between Shs 5,000 and Shs 8,000 and comes of age when children begin their secondary school education.

That would leave parents thinking more of themselves towards retirement and reaping from their investment, if they invested than worry about higher education needs for the children.

So, go ahead and talk to your insurance agent or any insurance company about available packages.