How many of you would like to live in a well-developed country like Japan, UK, and USA? I am sure most of you would raise your hand; some might be already imagining yourself living there. Well, I am not here to make you day dream, I am here just to point out an idea; an idea where you would be making this country like the ones that you just dreamed of. And my idea includes all those parents/guardians who would call themselves responsible for their children. Of course, every one of you think the same, but are you really what you believe?

Again, how many of you would let your children do their dishes at home, or at least let them make their bed early in the morning? This may surprise you, but such single act can make a whole country developed. Baffled? Let me explain. How many of you know about the “Butterfly Effect”? Even if you might not have heard the term, you must be pretty much aware of its utility, at a day to day context. 

A metaphorical example might help you understand it. Edward Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist, gave the details of a tornado (the exact time of formation, the exact path taken) being influenced by minor perturbations such as the flapping of the wings of a distant butterfly several weeks earlier. So, remember saying, “What if that would have happened? What if it would have become this or if this would have happened? 

When you make your children make their bed, it gives them a sense of doing their work by themselves, and it makes them realize the sense of ownership. Making them clean their dishes, clean their room or their personal toilet make them aware that if they “mesh it up”, they have to “clean it up”. So, this sense of responsibility takes a huge scope when they go out from the perimeter of their comfort zone, say home. For example, not throwing litters in the public places, doing their homework on their own. This sense of responsibility and the attribution of it to self is what make a child independent.

A responsible child means a responsible adult in the future and finally, a responsible citizen. These responsibilities encompass every occupation- from a driver to a doctor to a political figure. 

We attribute all the negative states of development to the politicians, don’t we? “Our country’s politics is corrupted; nobody does the right thing, no matter how many times you change the person.” So basically, you mean that they are not “responsible” enough towards their duties as a country’s representative. So let’s go back and see the root cause. In our country, there are leaders from different economic backgrounds. Some are doctors and engineers while others have just passed SLC or even less. They come from different family backgrounds and family status. So, had they some sense of responsibility towards their duties from the early development of their psychology, they would have done what was right and to the full extent of it.

Therefore, my notion spans across all classes of families, high or low, rich or poor. And the thing I want from you, not just revolves around the examples I have given. It, rather involves all the creative ways that you can think of in making them responsible for their actions. Remember, your child being responsible for his actions is the biggest boon you can ever get.