Someone once said, “We rattle the world for our babies.”  That poet recognized the collective effort in bringing babies into the world and implied that these “gifts” belong to all of us, not just to the individual parents. That is not, of course, to disregard the obvious—that children are the charge of their individual parents, at least in most cultures.  It is to recognize that we have a collective responsibility to make the world an hospitable place in which these precious “coins” can take root and begin to explore the world.

I am appalled how what wretched circumstances so many babies are born into.  And I’m talking about our culture, not just third world, undeveloped countries.  Sometimes in exasperation I exclaim, “We need to license parents!”  There are people who are wholly unprepared to become parents but there is nothing to stop them and as a result young children are born into and raised in horrible circumstances.  What is the solution?   I don’t really know.  I am pleased with the creation of pre-school programs decades ago.  These programs represent some effort offering a ray of hope for some of these children..