“It takes a village to raise a child…”
And yet it’s something many of us so frequently forget.
In a world where we are addicted to being busy, we often become caught up in our own bubbles unaware of the comings and goings of those around us until something catches our eye that makes us sit up and take notice. And judge. And speculate. And assume the worst.
But why?
Our little people deserve to grow up surrounded by wisdom, love, kindness and empathy, and a willingness to reach out and help others when they themselves don’t know they need it.
To grow up without prejudice and believe that “Mum/Dad, did her best.”
When we see another mum struggling or a child having a tantrum in the middle of the shopping aisle, we judge. When we’ve struck gold and managed to steal two minutes to enjoy a quiet coffee in a cafe only to have it interrupted by a little one throwing their food on the floor, we judge.
It seems that’s just the nature of society today, where has human kindness gone?
When we drop them at school and see another with a crumpled uniform or messy hair… Do we really need to make assumptions?
What does it teach our children?
The world has enough unjust floating around without contributing to it even more. Especially now, when our “village” has never been more necessary.
What with smartphones, social media and instant connections to an abundance of information, it’s easy to lose sight of our values and be caught up in running commentary on those around us. But it’s not just us, our children are faced with the same challenges and bright “shiny toys”. Being a parent today is so much harder than it was for our parents and their parents and our grandparents’ parents. It’s scary. It’s unpredictable and it’s downright daunting.
It’s also full of hope, bigger dreams and an abundance of opportunity. But it takes a village. It takes a village to help our children navigate the waters of this big, wide world. Whether we go at it alone as a single parent or surrounded by a loving partner, parents, aunts, uncles and family friends.
Family is what we make it. They don’t necessarily always share the same genes and that’s ok because at the end of the day, it’s about raising our children the best way we know how and having a hand in becoming the best humans they know how.