After enjoying a meal at Le Peep, I stood outside near the door to wait for a friend to exit. A lad about 11 years old came up, opened the door, and held it open. He looked at me and motioned with his head for me to enter. “Thank you,” I said, “but I’m waiting for my friend to come out.” 

He acknowledged what I said with a little head bow. He still held the door open when my friend exited. She thanked him. His mother (I assumed) was standing near him. I asked her if it was alright if I gave her son a bookmark. She said it was OK. I gave him the bookmark and added that it had one of my paintings on it. 

He thanked me and commented on how beautiful he thought it was. The lad’s politeness made my day. His behavior showed that his parents (I assume) had invested in making him considerate of others. I am sorry that I did not get his name so that I could dedicate the above to him. 

Unfortunately, there are many parents who are not invested in raising children to be(come) good citizens. The Cambridge English Dictionary defines a parent as “a mother or father of a person or an animal, or someone who looks after a  person in the same way that a parent does.” As a child I remember hearing my mother say to other adults: “It’s too bad it’s so easy to become a parent. It only takes a few minutes.”

Of course, at that time, I did not know she was referring to the biological process. 

In HealthPrep.com, there is the site: “What Are Good Parenting Skills? 10 Incredible Tips.” The headings of the 10 Tips sections are as follows: (1) Respect Your Child; (2) Have Conversations About Expectations; (3) Discipline with Kindness; (4) Consistency Is Key; (5) Give Them Freedom of Independence; (6) Create Guidelines and Stick to Them; (7) Be Adaptable; (8) Be Present; (9) Shower Them with Real Love; (10) Be Your Best. Number 10 encourages parents to be good role models. 

“The solution to adult problems tomorrow depends on large measures upon how our children grow up today.” (Anthropologist Margaret Mead,1901-1978.) 

Oct. 15 is the International Day of Rural Women. It was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2007 to celebrate “the achievements and contributions of these women towards rural development and agriculture.” (NationalToday.com)

Oct. 17 is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. It was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1992. In 1987 hundreds of thousands of people gathered at the Trocadero in Paris to bring attention to and honor those locked in poverty. (holidayscalendar.net) 

Good parenting helps offspring care about others and the planet.