Who agrees with Mellissa Harris Perry that children belong to everyone not the p

1. 61

   smarleygrl7posted 11 years ago

   Who agrees with Mellissa Harris Perry that children belong to everyone not the parents?

   replyreport
2. 73

   Nancy C Mooresposted 11 years ago

   I do agree with Mellissa in some ways. Children love attention, and being taken care of. They love to be loved even though they might not act like it. lol  If a child is hungry we should make sure the child is fed. Yes, we all need to contribute all we can to taking care of all the children in some way. Everyone should always show love to them. But, when it comes down to the nitty gritty children do belong to the parents. That is where the responsibility lies is with them, but we can all help out with taking care of the children. If everyone helped wouldn't everything run smoother just don't confuse a child with who is responsible for them. They always belong to mom and dad unless they are abused.

   replyreport
3. 79

   Moon Daisyposted 11 years ago

   I don't know who Mellissa Harris Perry is, and I don't know the context of what she said, but I agree with this statement to some extent. 
   
   What she seems to be saying is that it's not just parents who are responsible for a child, it's the whole of society.  (Am I right?)
   
   This is a nice sentiment.  If you saw a lost child you would help them, right?  If a parent is abusing their child and somebody else, a neighbour perhaps, becomes aware of this, then they should have a responsibility to the child to help.  Society should have every child's interests at heart, and it should legislate accordingly. 
   
   However, ideally it's the child's parents who should be responsible for them primarily.  I guess society should be there to step in if something goes wrong.
   
   The part of the statement I'm not so sure about is children "belonging" to anyone.  Nobody "belongs to" anybody else.  Our children are not our possessions.  They are not things - they are people with their own minds, their own rights and ultimately must make their own decisions.  Everybody belongs only to themselves.
   
   I once had a landlady who used to say "your children don't belong to you, you just borrow them for a time".  We look after our kids for a while.  We are responsible for them when they are young, support them and ideally surround them with love.  Then they grow up and make their own lives.

   replyreport
   1. 61

      smarleygrl7posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Nancy and moon, agree with you both. Moon I just want to add that my children belong to God and He thought enough of me to let me see over them and I'm so blessed, but outside of that I believe I'm the sole decision maker, caregiver and provider

      replyreport