Denis Hannigan

[Dear Anna and Daniel] I've got two small babies – one who is 8 months, one who just turned two – a boy and a girl. The presentation this morning made me reflect on how lucky and privileged I have been. It was very impactful. I was brought up in a very loving family. Amazing mother – she's not with us anymore. And an amazing dad who is. I was given an amazing environment to grow up in. it wasn't silver spoon, but I didn't want for anything at the same time. They really worked hard to look after me and give me the right opportunities and put me on the right path. And I want to carry some of that forward and give the same opportunity and the same environment to my own children and to let them hopefully in time that they were given that same support. C: It's interesting to think about how, when you have very little children who aren't going to remember this time, that you're creating their past right now. Yeah absolutely. I read somewhere recently that says by the time your kid is 2 or 3 or 4 they've formed these development points and they're basically set at that stage. And that also was a bit concerning – myself and my wife want to be doing the right things for them and putting them on the right track. And that's very much the way I feel like I had that upbringing myself. So we absolutely want to create their past but do it in a positive way and do as good a job as we can. Copyright that. C: What do you want for them? I want them to be obviously happy and to feel that they had a loving environment around them when they grow up. I also want them to be durable and able to withstand life and whatever it throws at them because to some extent when people say 'I want ,my kids to be happy' – and I've thought about this a little bit – it's a little bit simplistic right? Because life is tough and you'll have good days and bad days and you want them to be able to respond to whatever comes up and to take perspective and to treasure the people they have around them and to find ultimately to be happy.