They say it takes a village to raise a child, and in some societies around the world, that is quite literally the case. Within civilizations made out of hunter-gatherers, the practices for raising children and caring for the elderly are far different than in the developed world in the West. But there may be lessons to be learned from these traditional societies.
"There have been humans for six million years… They brought up their children in different ways, they treated their old people in different ways," says Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jared Diamond. "We can learn from those six million years of human history how to do things we care about, such as bringing up children, confronting danger, and growing old."
Jared Diamond has spent nearly 50 years studying culture and civilizations in Papua New Guinea. His latest book is called, "The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies?"
Comments [2]
This topic is interesting. Is Mr. Diamond talking about the American Tea Party Society?
My parents raised me basically alone, my grandparents never liked my mother and had no vested interest in me because I was a female and could not carry on the family name, my aunts, uncles and cousins also seemed to forget about us and I in turn about them. But in the recent years I've learned a new meaning to what family is. Family is not nesscarily those who are blood related but those who chose to love you unconditionally. My best friends family has become my family we celebrate holidays and birthdays together we're there for each other where our real families couldn't or wouldn't be. The kids that are born into our "family" now are raised by the village and I think wil be better for it.
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