Does it take a Village to Raise a Child?

So, my grandson is going on a trip with fifth graders from his school. They left this morning at six and will return tomorrow at two in time for regular parental pick-up.

The camp will be good for all the children, especially those who haven't spent time away from home. My grandson has always been with one family member or another, unless he was in school. The only other times were birthday sleep overs, usually those were all within a ten mile radius.  :)

That led me to consider how protective we've been toward our sweet grandchild. It does take a village to raise a child and we're a huge versatile village.

When my own son was small, I didn't have those resources close-by, except for my sister-in-law for a short time, but he's no worse for the choices I made with close friends to care for him while I worked. He made new friends and people to love him other than family. Too, I worked close enough, most of the time, to pop in to see how his day was going.

My grandson has learned respect for his elders and for that we're grateful. Now, he's definitely all boy and we have issues to deal with like everyone else. Sometimes it's a toss of the coin as to which way to swing a decision, depending on what the issue entails. :) He's also a very polite, independent little man. We respect him as a growing adult also, and for that, I hope he's grateful too. I think most of the time he is.

There's always that moment the parent must step up and decide what's best. We gotta watch out for those manholes! Keep'm safe, while rounding out their education, at home and out there in the world. Naturally, I think each decision depends on the individual child.

I wonder how many of you have had a family village to care for your child, or children? What are your thoughts on what works best?

Carol DeVaney