FOR FURTHER READING How Parents Enhance a Child's Development |
Parents play an irreplaceable role in the lives of their children. This vital relationship positively impacts a child's physical, mental, and emotional well-being. The right of parents to maintain a strong involvement in their children's lives has been continually upheld by Supreme Court doctrine. It is deeply valued by millions of American families.
"They’re my foundation," 17-year-old Kristiana St. John says of her parents in a recent Associated Press interview. "My mom tells me that even if I do something stupid, she’s still going to love me no matter what. Just knowing that makes me feel very happy and blessed."
Kristiana was one of 1,280 young people asked to identify what makes them happy in a recent MTV/Associated Press survey. Overwhelmingly, the teenagers who were polled named spending time with family as their top answer. For nearly three quarters – 73 percent – their relationship with their parents is what makes them most happy.
| QUICK FACTS ON PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT
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AN IRREPLACEABLE ROLE
The role of parents in a child’s life is an irreplaceable one. "Even when young children spend most of their waking hours in child care, parents remain the most influential adults in their lives," writes Dr. Jack Shonkoff, a board-certified pediatrician who sits on the faculty of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
| "The hallmark of [the parental] relationship is the readily observable fact that this special adult is not interchangeable with others." Dr. Jack Shonkoff Board-certified pediatrician Harvard Graduate School of Education |
"The hallmark of [the parental] relationship is the readily observable fact that this special adult is not interchangeable with others,” he continues. “A child may not care who cuts his hair or takes his money at the toy store, but he cares a great deal about who is holding her when she is unsure, comforts her when she is hurt, and shares special moments in her life."
The relationship that parents share with their children is one that impacts a child throughout his or her lifetime. Studies show that the benefits of parental involvement are manifold, affecting numerous areas of a child's life, including health and development, academic progress, and life choices.
TIME-HONORED RIGHTS
The Supreme Court has maintained that parents possess a fundamental constitutional right to raise their children as they see fit. "The child is not the mere creature of the State," the Supreme Court concluded in a 1925 ruling, "those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations."
| "The child is not the mere creature of the State. Those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations. 1925 Supreme Court ruling Pierce v. Society of Sister |
The role of parents in the lives of their children has, historically, been one of unquestioned value, celebrated in cultures around the world. And the rights that come along with that responsibility—to direct the upbringing and education of one’s own children—have been consistently honored and upheld.
A RELATIONSHIP UNDER ATTACK
Seventeen-year-old Kristiana's description of her parents as her "foundation" says a lot about the power of a parent in a child’s life. But tragically the foundation of parenthood is being slowly eroded.
The child-parent relationship is now facing danger on two fronts.
Within the U.S. Federal Court system, a gradual change has been taking place. Today, instead of a robust defense of parental rights, one finds eroding support for parental rights from judges across the nation.
Many judges are now denying parental rights. Others are refusing to recognize them because they are not explicitly protected in the U.S. Constitution. While parental rights are at risk on the home front, a new threat is growing abroad. International law seeking to undermine the parental role is approaching on the horizon. Combined, these threats form a formidable storm front that could prove lethal to the child-parent relationship.
| "Life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege, than the raising of the next generation." C. Everett Koop Former US Surgeon General |
Visit The Attack on Parental Rights to read more about the advancing threats to the child-parent relationship.
PROTECTING THE VITAL CHILD-PARENT RELATIONSHIP
There is only one way to effectively secure the foundation of parenthood for this generation and the next: a constitutional amendment that explicitly protects the child-parent relationship from unreasonable government intrusion. A constitutional amendment will ensure that the rights of parents to raise their children are honored by federal court judges, and recognized above international law.
We need your help to safeguard the precious child-parent relationship. Join the campaign to protect parental rights now by signing the petition and then getting your friends involved.
SOURCES
National Education Association, "Getting Involved in Your Child’s Education"
National Education Association, "What the Research Says"
Quote by Health and Human Services Secretary Thompson
American Psychiatric Association, "Parents' Antidrug Message Beginning to Pay Off"
