It takes a village to raise a child!

Beautiful aunt Tasha!, originally uploaded by L'Aubergine Grillée.

I always love this African proverb which reminds us that we are not alone in raising our child. The whole of society will help and provide our child with the environment to grow.

I am not sure if I spent my childhood in the friendly neighbourhood back in Jakarta. But I remember how my mom used to spent lots of time with other moms sharing their daily life. It is also a chance for me to play with friends around my age at their place. Nowadays, the ideal village where women sit around the bench chatting, or old man sit on the stool telling a story surrounded by children are difficult to picture. The families prefer to spend their afternoon and evening in front of television, we spends hours in the car and walk around in the shopping malls (especially when it is hot!). We, Parent blame their children for lack of social skills.

I would like Noelia to grow to know that the world doesn't consist me and Papa. The responsibility to raise her is not only with us, but also with extended family and in some cases the good community. It doesn't mean we leave her alone with strangers, but building trust to our close friends are important to us and the children. At the moment, we can quickly feel the good and safe neighbourhood compare to other neighbourhood which may need our child to avoid it.

The children can quickly feel the prejudice we have against our neighbours or family members. The common core of community is the unity which resplendent the diversity of cultures around us.