Parenting And Society
In Losing The Village We Abandoned Society’s Parents
Increasingly independent lifestyles aren’t good for all of us, and especially not for families.
It takes a village to raise a child.
I had a very different experience of growing up in the United States. I wasn’t overscheduled, except when I was doing it to myself. My parents didn’t arrange playdates beyond calling my friends’ parents to ask if their child was available. When guests came to the house, I usually hung out in my room or downstairs, until I was old enough to quietly join the adults socializing upstairs.
Those things were strange enough compared with my peers, but I think the biggest difference between my upbringing and many of my friends was that my parents, at least for some of my childhood, had a support village. Sometimes more than one support village.
My mom was just recently telling me about a group she was visiting and socializing with that realized she needed a ‘mommy break’ and that literally every time I asked for something, or she mentioned I might need something, another adult got up and make sure I was taken care of. This was perfectly normal to me since this was a group of adults I trusted even if I didn’t know them well.
