‘Children as a Public Good’ is an article was written by Myra H. Strober. The author, Myra H. Strober, is an economist and a business studies professor at Stanford University. The article starts by asking, “Whose responsibility are children?” Strobe says that although politicians and specialists refer to children as “our pride”, “the future” and “the nation’s treasure”, they fail to take collective responsibility to care for the children. Strober observes that in the United States, people are so individualistic and perceive their children ‘as a private good’ and gives an alternative approach, one of ‘children as a public good’ where children’s welfare and education are addressed collectively. The notion of children as a private good deduces that it is the sole responsibility of the child’s parents to take care of the economic and emotional needs. Strober defines a public good as a good if provided benefits the society rather than only the direct beneficiary (Dissent: Children as a public good).
There are some similarities between Stober’s thoughts and my family’s perception of the issues discussed. It is not weird that in a democratic country like United States, politicians in campaigns fail to address and come up with proposals on issues facing the responsibility of the children. Strober talks of public schooling it is a good idea and in my family, me and my siblings we have undergone through this system and my parent embrace the idea.
Strober argues that parents who have neglected their families in pursuit of career advancement should not be held irresponsible and instead be appreciated for their hard work in bringing up children and holding their job. In my family experience, this is true. My father, has completely turned into a workaholic either he is working late or traveled on business trips, I rarely meet him maybe once in a blue moon. This is distressing and I never get time to appreciate his hard work since we are never together.
However, there are some differences in my family setting with what Strober is discussing. Strober argues that there should be a collective responsibility of taking care of the children. Although the parents get the emotional benefit of rearing their children well, society in general also benefits from a good upbringing of the children on an economic and social basis. This does not occur to my family. My parents are the only ones concerned with my well-being and other people are not concerned whether I go to school, whether I get good grades, and whether my needs are catered for. Some people are even jealous of you when you succeed more than their children.
Strober proposes a child-care system and argues that mothers too should work and provide for their lives and their families. My family has a neighbor who is not able to afford to pay for child-care center bills, it is expensive yet they offer poor quality service to the children according to the Cost Childhood Outcome Study (CQO) (Benokratis 54).
I agree with Strober’s purpose in writing the article. The article gives an insight into the issue of children’s responsibility and creates awareness on the subject. Children are the nation’s future, pride and hope and their issues ought to be addressed amicably. With the other democratic Western countries putting the issue of children responsibility on the forefront, United States should not be left out. Strober puts his thoughts straight forward and goes ahead to identify what needs to be done to improve the situation.
Apart from what Strober has discussed, I would have liked to highlight what our families are like and how they do things, unlike talking of the outside imaginable world. Like the saying ‘charity begins at home, we should recognize the problems we are having at our homes and address them first. You cannot appreciate and take care of another parent’s child if you’re the child at home who cannot understand you or recognize you (Gilbert 208).
Works cited
Benokratis, Nicole. Marriages & Familes, Changes, Choices, and Constraints. OH: Prentice Hall, 2007. Print.
Disssent. “Children as a Public Good.” Foundation for the Study of Independent Social Ideas, Inc. 2004. Web.
Gilbert, Kathleen. Annual Editions: The Family 08/09. TX: McGraw-Hill, 2007. Print.