Isn’t early childhood nurturing second nature to us all? Why do we need to worry about the children? Surely their parents or grandparents make sure that they get what they need?
Well, the answers are that a significant percentage of children aren’t getting what they need. Early childhood development issues are public health issues because poor early childhood development leads to poor public health.
There is an African proverb stating that “it takes a village to raise a child,” implying that a local (or even broader) community of people needs to work together along with a child’s parents to raise a child to their maximum potential. Some folks state that it doesn’t take a village to raise a child but that it takes a family to raise a child. I feel quite strongly that it indeed does take a village (along with the family) to raise a child—and to deny that reality only prevents us even more from working together to improve our community and ourselves.
A word of background: Everything that we do or hope to do is interconnected with our fellow citizens. We all rely on each other and depend on seemingly independent systems to function together. A quick healthcare example would be that successful knee replacement surgery relies on multiple systems (surgeon, scientific research, medical education, OR staff, anesthesia, nursing, pharmacy, housekeeping, hospital engineering, physical therapy, etc.) that have to be functioning together to optimize the result.
Just as a surgeon alone cannot fix a knee, a family alone cannot optimally raise a child. So let me explain the components of what I mean by a “village.”
What Is a Village?
- Family: It goes without saying that families are the primary nurturers of children. Yet many families need assistance in so many ways that we need to able to provide that assistance. Well-nurtured children make good citizens.
- Medical care: Families are not capable of independently providing medical care in today’s society. They rely on physicians, clinics and healthcare systems to lead the way. Healthy children make good citizens.
- Education: Children absolutely require the best education possible. For the less fortunate in our society, the only true way out of poverty is through education. Educated children make good citizens.
- Recreation: Children need more exercise, and our community needs to ensure that we have the proper vehicles for that—community centers, school programs, after-school programs, sport and non-sport recreational programs. Active children make good citizens.
- Law enforcement: Our law enforcement system (properly trained and monitored) needs our full support. They need to able to adapt in a proactive (rather than a retroactive) manner to seek ways to improve our community. Law-abiding children make good citizens.
- Faith support: Folks that are active in their religious organizations know that they have a responsibility to nurture all of the children of the church. In the families of various faiths, we should all work together. Even those of no specific faith should recognize a higher calling to support others. Spiritually-led children make good citizens.
The list above emphasizes ways that we are all inter-connected and need each other. This inter-connectedness is what makes us so successful at times when everything works together. This inter-connectedness also has the capability to tear us apart as a community, for when one system fails, the whole system is likely to fail.
One more thing worries me about our children—exposure to violence. I’m not talking about the type of violence shown on video games per se. I’m talking about real violence, such as assault, robbery, maltreatment, sexual abuse, or witnessing significant violence.
It is well known that exposure to violence in the early years puts children at risk for adverse behaviors and poor coping skills later in life. When children are exposed to violence (and its concomitant hatred), they learn adverse ways to deal with the inevitable conflicts in life.
If we can handle conflict resolution well, society benefits. If we cannot handle conflict resolution well, we all suffer the consequences. We need better systems in place to protect and nurture our vulnerable children.
So, what can we do?
- Recognize our common bonds and assume personal responsibility for all of our children. We have a communal responsibility to all of the children in our communities. Stated another way, we are communal parents for all the children. Without that, we cannot improve as a community.
- When times get tough, our responsibilities to our children are even greater. Cutting back on services and resources and just hoping that children can pull themselves up “by their bootstraps” is just wrong.
- Assure that medical care is equitably distributed and preventive in nature.
- Promote a robust educational system that seeks to produce knowledgeable and engaged citizens.
- Learn to resolve conflicts in a meaningful way, with humility and sincerity. This step is crucial.
It really does “take a village to raise a child” who can contribute to the overall well-being of our community now and in the years ahead.
Creating the components of a village and nurturing them is hard work but the only way forward. We need to make that village as strong and vibrant as possible.
Dr. Bob Saul is a Professor of Pediatrics (Emeritus) at Prisma Health in Greenville, South Carolina. He worked as a pediatrician for more than 40 years.
