Do you know where your children are?

During our class discussion yesterday, everything that we talked about somehow I could relate it to when I was in India and how the points that were being made in class were something that I witnessed there. One thing that stood out was the point about why we need grandmothers? We discussed in class that we need our elderly to be around even after their reproductive age to pass on their wisdom, to help with the young children so the parents can provide food, etc. When I was in India I was living with my extended family, and the mothers would leave their children at home with the grandmothers and go to the shops to buy groceries, and also the grandmothers helped them with new remedies for a minor sickness and also with recipes. Another thing that was on the slide was that we need to have siblings and also neighbors. I found it odd that the word neighbors was up there also. I was thinking about my neighbors and how I barely know any of them. But, when I thought about my experience in India, it made sense. I saw children as young as 2 years old, roaming the streets during the day, and going to the nearest house to have food when they are hungry or if they need anything. These kids didn't go back home every time they needed something, and I always used to ask them where they lived, and they said on the other side of the town. I was kind of angry at their parents, because these children were allowed to go out of the house without any adult supervision, and I always had to be watched by my parents in the U.S. even if I was playing in my driveway. I realized that it was a cultural difference and that whenever a new baby is born in the town, the whole town knows about it, and everyone knows about each and every child on the streets. It's kind of like the saying it takes a whole village to raise a child.