Does it really take a village to raise a child?

Does the responsibility of parenting a child go beyond the parent? What roles do family, friends and a greater community play in helping children grow up to be successful?

We directed these questions to our resident child advocacy expert, Dr. Martha Farrell Erickson, Director of Harris Programs at the Center for Early Education & Development at the University of Minnesota’s Children, Youth & Family Consortium. Dr. Erickson is well known for her research on community-based approaches to strengthen a family and was an adviser to then Vice President Al Gore. Having written a weekly newspaper column on parenting advice, Dr. Erickson now hosts a parenting forum with her daughter on the radio program “Good Enough Moms” on the Twin Cities radio station FM107.

Does it really take a village to raise a child? Dr. Erickson responds: “To a large extent, yes – it does take a village to raise a child. A wealth of research demonstrates the importance of a strong social support network for parents; parents best support their children's health and well-being when they have support for themselves. Also, some interesting research on adolescents shows that the very positive effects of "authoritative parenting" (which, in short, includes love, clear but flexible limits, and reasonably high expectations) are multiplied for teens whose families are part of a community of parents who use a similar approach. And, of course, children benefit directly from having a circle of caring adults who guide them, set a good example for them, and cheer them on. In other words, the village helps parents do their best, magnifies the impact of parents' best efforts, and ultimately enables children to become their best.”

Thank you Dr. Erickson for helping us discover new insight into parenting. If you’d like to learn more about how the U of M is working on child advocacy issues, click on the links below.