Recently, a woman phoned my house and spoke briefly to my husband. This one phone call and the reason behind it was a parenting shake-up. Not only did it change the way I think about my parenting methods, but also about the fellow parents in my midst.
It turns out our daughters are in school together. And my daughter shared something with hers, something serious that was really bothering her. Something, for whatever reason, she did not share with us, her parents. Instead, she told her friend who in turn confided in her own mother.
Had it not been for this concerned mom taking the time to look our number up and make the call we would have had no idea that anything was bothering our kid.
Not long ago, it took a village to raise a child. But somehow over the past 30 years, this community of concerned parents has slowly dispersed. An isolation effect has occurred within society, and each family drifts along in their own little bubble, reluctant to pop or be popped.
Until now.
Would I do the same for someone else’s child? Without fear of reproach? Without any judgement?
I will now.