It Takes Parents, Not Government, To Raise A Child

by Rep. John Koster

Freedom is rarely lost all at once. Loss of freedom happens a little at a time in ways that are almost unnoticeable until so many of our liberties are taken that it is difficult to retrieve or restore them. The more individual freedoms we give up, the more powerful government becomes in its attempts to influence our lives.

Take, for example, the Governor's Commission on Early Learning. This government commission was formed in June 1998 "to focus public attention on the learning of our state's youngest children," a seemingly noble goal. Last year, the governor appointed his wife, Mona Lee Locke, and Melinda French Gates (wife of Microsoft founder Bill Gates), as its co-chairs. Among the commission's responsibilities are determining the appropriate role for state government in early education.

How many parents are aware that this commission exists? As a parent, do you feel the need to have a government commission spend your hard-earned tax dollars (up to $1.5 million) to write rules and guidelines to tell you how to raise and educate your own child?

Sure, the motives of this group may seem well intentioned. But the bottom line is that it is aimed at giving government more power to direct how parents should raise their children. It works to build upon Hillary Clinton's theme, "It takes a village to raise a child."

These words, "It takes a village," greatly disturb me – and if you are a parent, they should disturb you too. Whatever happened to the parents' rights to raise a child?

The government guidelines for raising your child are outlined in the "Children's Bill of Rights," a document adopted by the commission on June 15.

Let's take a look at some of the language of this "bill of rights." Following the preamble, the first paragraph reads,

We hold these truths to be self evident, that all children are born with certain inalienable rights, among these are a safe home, caring parents, access to healthcare, an educable mind, and an optimistic outlook on life.

On the surface, this may seem an innocent statement. But who will define what is a "safe home" and "caring parents?" Government? And how far will government go to enforce its own definitions?

Paragraph three:

Children should have the consistent and loving attention of their parents. Parents have children and should accept all the responsibilities entailed. Parents should be actively engaged in parenting during a part of each and every day, providing encouragement, support, discipline, and love.

Who decides what is consistent and loving attention? Who decides what parents' responsibilities will be? Is it government's place to tell parents how they should be involved with their children? Should government tell parents how to raise their children?

It gets worse. From paragraph six:

Every child has a right to learn a socially acceptable value system and obtain a developmentally age appropriate, quality education. As our children's first teachers, parents need to become educated on how to parent and how to teach the basic rudiments for life-long learning.

Who will define "socially acceptable value system?" Would Christianity be viewed as acceptable? Or does government give itself the right through this "Children's Bill of Rights" to impose its own value system on our children?

Finally, why does government feel it has any ability or basis to teach parents how to be parents? Who are they to teach parental skills?

If you read between the lines of this document, you'll clearly see that it may very well be used as a foundation to establish government policies regarding children, with government – not parents – defining what is best for children.

The basic fundamental right of parents to raise their children as they see fit is being replaced with a government commission-defined "Children's Bill of Rights" that recognizes government as the most fit parent – not you! It is happening little-by-little, almost so that you won't notice it until it is too late.

This commission is a waste of taxpayer dollars and, for the benefit of our children, should be immediately abolished. The best role for government to play in the lives of responsible families raising their own children is no role at all. Government has no business directing what is best for children. That is the role and the responsibility of parents.

It is time for us as parents and as citizens of this state to wake up and take back what is ours. It is NOT the role of government to tell us how to raise our children. Our children do not belong to the government. They do not belong to a village. It doesn't take a village to raise a child. It takes parents!

# # #

---

Editor's note: Rep. John Koster is a life-long resident of Washington state, representing the 39th Legislative District which encompasses rural Snohomish County. He and his wife, Vicki, have four children.

╪