THE IMPORTANCE OF RAISING YOUR CHILDREN TO BE GOOD CITIZENS

Raising kids, as most of us know, is very challenging. It isn’t just about keeping them safe and accounted for...or making sure they get to school on time, or feeding them their 3 meals a day...there is a higher calling, a higher responsibility, as I see it, to raise children to be honest, of high moral character, and to be empathetic. These are values that I hope are still coveted, though I am sometimes uncertain. I would hope that we would all want this for our children...more than a Trust Fund, more than status.

I would go further than just saying that we owe these characteristics and values to our own children...I would say that we owe them to society at large. Our children are going to go out into the world and contact and impact countless people each and every day. They are going to influence their friends, work associates, strangers, their future spouses, and, in turn, influence their future children. We owe it to society to send out kids into a world where they can be a force for civility, a force for empathy and integrity. We don’t need more billionaires...I am quite sure of that, but we desperately need more kids who grow up to be thoughtful, and empathetic.....we can surely thank the parents of Malala Yousefzai, the 17 year old Pakistani girl who recently won the Nobel Peace Prize. They gave the world a gift in Malala. They obviously helped to develop her passion and courage. We can be grateful for the parents of anyone who helps to make the world a better place. It is nothing less than an amazing contribution to all of society...that will pay dividends for generations to come.

Surely we need great scientists too...and entrepreneurs, and inventors, etc.,....but perhaps more than anything we need people of integrity, and people who care about their fellow man.

So, I tell myself, that any success I have in helping to make my kids good citizens...for the rest of their lives, will have an exponential benefit on humanity. Imagine how many people Gandhi inspired and helped, or Mother Teresa, just by not losing sight of the ”larger picture”.

Maybe we can’t all be entrepreneurial geniuses like Bill Gates, or Steve Jobs, or rock stars like Bono....but we can all do a great deal by being good citizens....people you would want your children to encounter, and be influenced by.....One of my biggest hopes is that my children encounter good people in their lives, ones who reinforce positive values. The only way to make that happen is if we all do our part....the responsibility is ours!

Food for Thought......