The Whole Village Thing Is Out the Window...Who is Raising Our Children?

Me and My Godbaby!

Does it take a village to raise a child anymore? Does a celebrity serve as a role model? If being raised starts with your parents, is that where it stops? Who else has an effect on children as they grow up? Have we completely let go of the responsibility of the entire community raising our children, and pushed the responsibility solely on the parents?

These are all questions that constantly go through my mind, and I cannot help but conclude that we have gone away from a village raising a child. The crazy thing is that no matter how you see it the village will continue to raise the child even if no energy is put into it.

Since a child's early stages he or she is effected by the people around them. Parents, teachers, doctors, friends, strangers, television, movies, and celebrities, all play a major part in the development of a child. Despite how much a parents does, a child still has an opportunity to be effected largely by someone else.

So as black people do we continue to wonder what the hell is wrong with our community, or do we understand the cycle that we all create? Do we begin to understand how our actions play a role in the development of the children around us? Do we challenge our black celebrities to be role models? Do we challenge our teachers to never give up on their students? Do we challenge our doctors to go a little further than just looking at children as patients. Do we challenge our parents to understand the importance of real parenting? Do we challenge ourselves to represent greatness so that we become beneficial to the learning of a child around us?Or do we leave the responsibility solely to parents and never truly end the cycle that has been created in our community?

Think about it: In our community there might be a 16 year old mother and no father. You are saying that it is simply the responsibility of the 16 year old mother to raise her child. More than likely she will not have the proper maturity to fully raise the child to reach its full potential. As a result, what if the child thinks her example shows that she should also have a child at 16...the cycle will continue.

Back in the day "Big Mama" raised the entire block....Are you too small to help out?

What will you do to help end the cycle? Will you finally join the village? Will you challenge those around you to help raise our children?