by Carol Gioia

Created on: May 26, 2009   Last Updated: June 01, 2009

While the parents have the primary responsibility for raising a child, they cannot do it alone. The village is a metaphor for the people and environment surrounding the child.

Much as parents might want to exclusively nurture and protect their child, they cannot live in isolation, and must prevail upon the community at large to have the moral fiber and nurturing spirit to be the child's village.

In the primitive African villages where the proverb, "It takes a village to raise a child," originated, the phrase could be taken literally. Each village was a separate entity and the children of the village were free to roam in safety and security. The village had an established code of morals and values which were passed down from generation to generation. Those who did not adhere to the code were cast out. Life was simple; outside influences, varying philosophies and oppositional agendas were not an issue. Children were nurtured, educated and protected in the womb of the entire village.

Today's world is far more complicated. A couple has a child, provides food, shelter, clothing and plants the seeds of moral values. The greater the desire of the parents to provide opportunities and advantages for the child, the more the child is exposed to surroundings and environments outside of the family unit.

Teachers, sport coaches, religious leaders, neighbors and the community at large, all have input into the child's life experience. They become the child's village. These are the individuals who have hands on responsibility for the welfare of the child.

There is the larger village of social responsibility. Public servants, political figures and leading citizens in all walks of life influence the raising of the child by their platforms, their commitment to issues and their votes.

For a child to thrive, the family must thrive. Therefore, the leaders in the community, the state and the country must act as an extension of the village; in the best interest of families, thus impacting each individual child.

Children are the future. As stated in The Prophet, they are life's longing for itself.

Individuals who parent a child are doing more than creating a family, they are making a commitment to the future. They are entering into an implied contract with the universe to contribute to a better world through the conscientious raising of their child.

Everyone who comes in contact with that child becomes a partner in that implied contract. They become a link in the chain of the child's village. They have as much moral and ethical responsibility for the well-being of that child of the future as the parents. Metaphorically speaking, while we may not be "Our brother's keeper," we are our brother's child's keeper.

Each child has a unique village. It is a tight-knit community made up of all the individuals encountered in that child's life journey. A child comes into the world a clean slate. Each person who writes on that slate takes up residence in that child's village. There are permanent residents, temporary visitors and transients.

It is the duty of the parents to monitor, to the best of their ability, who comes in contact with their child; who makes up the child's village. It is the duty of the rest of us to be a positive presence in the life of any child we encounter.

It does indeed take a village to raise a child.

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