It takes a Village

Many times we hear that it takes a village to raise a child. The definition of this "village" has never been clearly defined.  When I said that quote to my youngest daughter and asked her what did she think that meant she mentioned African Tribes.  She insisted that "village" meant everyone that lives near you.  "Like a village"....she kept repeating as if I was the village idiot.  👀  And while I do support that theory, we should realize that most families have multiple children and so how we connect to our village is important. We should make sure we don't over look the new family in the neighborhood, school, church, or even at the local libraries.

How do you connect to other families, parents, teachers, neighbors and others to build a strong village?  Do you see the significance in the unification of your village?  Have you seen how siloed we've become over the years due to panic, lack of empathy, and social media?  How has the influence of the internet disconnected your village?

A village should be diverse and is strong when we are including all people not just who we are most familiar. Think about your village of friends, what does that look like? What made you choose to include them in your village?  Are they similar to you or are they different?

Let's break down what my village looks like and maybe reflect on how to expand our village to not only make it strong but to make sure no "position" has been overlooked.

• Village Elders- older neighbors, and trusted elderly family members
• Village Advisors-Aunts, Uncles and grandparents
• Village Chiefs-Parents
• Youth Groups-all young people under the age of 18 who do not have children
• Villagers-everyone

Now, take a moment to think about what position you have filled, and what position(s) still need to be filled.  We put in place roles/responsibilities to assist us with raising our child(ren) to be respectful, honoring themselves, and believing in themselves.  We should think about age, gender and racial diversity when we focus on providing the best opportunity to not just our children but to others who are not in our immediate families.  Many families may be new to your community that do not know who to reach out to for assistance, advice or even play dates.

So, when you start thinking of the positions in your village that need to be filled, take your time.  Realize positions can be shifted and are not meant to be permanent. However, we have a universal need to connect and stay connected as well as the need to build our village stronger.  I hope you can create or be a part of an amazing village and recognize you are not alone on this path.

Don't allow yourself to be the village idiot!  Make a connection and build your village!!!