Did you hug your child this morning? Did you tell them you loved them, encourage them to have a sensational day ... and mean it?

Or were you too busy? Friends to meet, corporate ladders to climb, a shop to open, a contract to be signed, a meeting to go to.

Our children are a reflection on our life. If we have not been able to raise them to the point where they are ready to make their own way in the world, how can we be judged as a success?

That point was brought home at the Australian Institute of Management’s (AIM) Awards, held in Brisbane early this month.

Richard Cottee from Queensland Gas Company was named Professional Manager of the Year, and apart from saying he firmly believed his team could deliver zero carbon emissions by the year 2020, he paid tribute to his children and the role they played in his life.

This commitment to family also formed a significant part of the Women In Development Awards (WID), held the night before.

As WID awards committee chair Meera Honan watched her father, Dr Maha Sinnathamby, accept the AIM Innovation Award, the circle of life played itself out.

Maha is chairman and founder of Springfield Land Corporation and was commended for his innovative approach in creating a world-class, modern city that tackles the challenges of building a new community and socially uplifting an economically depressed region of south-east Queensland.

I don’t know who was the proudest of the two – Meera for what her dad had done or Maha for seeing how much his daughter has achieved.

As for me, the Year 12s have just completed their final day and my daughter is part of that group. She was in the first of the prep graders and along with her peers, is supposedly the best prepared of any age group for what’s ahead. How time flies.

Apart from trying to inspire and encourage her, it has also been a matter of simply supporting her – in her efforts, her decision-making, in her hopes and dreams.

My main hope is that she doesn’t sell herself short. Not to finish the year and realise: “I could have done better.”

For me, the past 17 years or so have been a demanding yet enjoyable time. Those sleepless nights on school camp when the kids kept talking ... and the mossies kept circling.

Sleeping on the floor of the hospital ward while she recuperated.

Seeing her play sport, sing in the choir, perform at music nights. Watching the pride on her little face when I turned up at a school open days.

It’s been one heck of a ride ... but I wouldn’t have changed it for quids.

Take charge of life. It is reflected by our children. Give yourself a chance to spread your wings and to fly ... and so will they.