It Takes a Village . . .

It takes a village to raise a child––and according to @AnnieFox we are all villagers. She’s right of course.

Early childhood is a garden—a seedbed of hope for humanity––and life experiences are seeds we plant in the hearts and minds of our children.

I say OUR children because it does take all of us to raise our children. Newborns arrive, according to Gopnik, Meltzoff and Kuhl (The Scientist in the Crib), probing the world for information about how it all works.  

In the beginning children learn from their parents and caregivers. But soon they begin to study, and learn from everyone they meet. This is how they discover how to survive and, if they are lucky, how to excel in the world where they are born.

Our role as villagers? To remember the miraculous growth going on inside that little mind and heart. And to share the moments we are given with them in the most meaningful way possible. A smile, a kind gesture, a little compassion can go a long way when a little soul is watching.

Yes our children need us, you and me, to help nurture them into the most fully developed, creative generation yet. The world will be a better place--and it may also survive.

© Nancy Tracey 2015