--- title: "Beware the Village Idiots | Dr. Harley Rotbart Blog" description: "There’s something that’s always bothered me about former First Lady Hillary Clinton’s famously titled book It Takes a Village. 1 The title paraphrases an African proverb about the many cooperative efforts required to raise children.…" lang: en json-ld: | { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BlogPosting", "headline": "Beware the Village Idiots", "description": "There’s something that’s always bothered me about former First Lady Hillary Clinton’s famously titled book It Takes a Village. 1 The title paraphrases an African proverb about the many cooperative efforts required to raise children.…", "articleBody": "There’s something that’s always bothered me about former First Lady Hillary Clinton’s famously titled book It Takes a Village. 1 The title paraphrases an African proverb about the many cooperative efforts required to raise children. Indeed, the community your kids experience can provide them with an important sense of belonging and stability. But even though many villagers may participate in your kids’ formative years, you are their most important guidepost, mentor, and friend. Relying too heavily on others for those roles is risky and, ultimately, unfulfilling.\n\nYour kids’ village is diverse, unfocused, and conflicted in its priorities. First of all, every village has its idiots who may negatively your kids, either intentionally or unintentionally; you have to be there to undo their influence. Of course, as Mrs. Clinton wrote, there are many villagers who can positively your kids—day care providers, playgroup parents, teachers, classmates, clergy, coaches, college counselors, etc. They each have their own well-meaning agendas for your kids. But you must be the filter, finding the right balance of influences so your kids get the right messages.\n\nThe villagers also have worries and distractions to deal with in their own lives. None are committed to your kids wholly and solely. That’s your job alone, and your privilege.\n\n1 Hillary Clinton, It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996).", "datePublished": "2012-02-23", "dateModified": "2012-02-23", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dr. Harley Rotbart", "url": "https://harleyrotbart.com", "jobTitle": "Pediatrician, Author, Parenting Expert" }, "publisher": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dr. Harley Rotbart", "url": "https://harleyrotbart.com" }, "mainEntityOfPage": { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://harleyrotbart.com/blog/beware-the-village-idiots" }, "wordCount": 222, "timeRequired": "PT1M", "articleSection": "parenting" } --- [Harley Rotbart, M.D. Author • Pediatrician • Grandfather ](/) [Books](/books) [Blog](/blog)[About](/about) [Contact](/#contact) [Back to Blog](/blog)parenting # Beware the Village Idiots February 23, 2012 1 min read There’s something that’s always bothered me about former First Lady Hillary Clinton’s famously titled book It Takes a Village. 1 The title paraphrases an African proverb about the many cooperative efforts required to raise children. Indeed, the community your kids experience can provide them with an important sense of belonging and stability. But even though many villagers may participate in your kids’ formative years, you are their most important guidepost, mentor, and friend. Relying too heavily on others for those roles is risky and, ultimately, unfulfilling. Your kids’ village is diverse, unfocused, and conflicted in its priorities. First of all, every village has its idiots who may negatively your kids, either intentionally or unintentionally; you have to be there to undo their influence. Of course, as Mrs. Clinton wrote, there are many villagers who can positively your kids—day care providers, playgroup parents, teachers, classmates, clergy, coaches, college counselors, etc. They each have their own well-meaning agendas for your kids. But you must be the filter, finding the right balance of influences so your kids get the right messages. The villagers also have worries and distractions to deal with in their own lives. None are committed to your kids wholly and solely. That’s your job alone, and your privilege. 1 Hillary Clinton, It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996). Share this post: [](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fharleyrotbart.com%2Fblog%2Fbeware-the-village-idiots)[](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fharleyrotbart.com%2Fblog%2Fbeware-the-village-idiots&text=Beware%20the%20Village%20Idiots)[](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fharleyrotbart.com%2Fblog%2Fbeware-the-village-idiots&title=Beware%20the%20Village%20Idiots) HR ### Dr. Harley Rotbart, M.D. Nationally-renowned pediatrician, parenting expert, and bestselling author helping families thrive for over 38 years. [Learn More About Dr. Rotbart](/#about) [Previous Post #### The “Which City Are They In Today” Stage of Parenting ](/blog/the-which-city-are-they-in-stage-of-parenting)[Next Post #### Spring Training Moments ](/blog/spring-training) Harley Rotbart, M.D. Nationally-renowned pediatrician, parenting expert, and author. An archive of his books, essays, and writing. [](https://www.facebook.com/harleyrotbartmd/)[](https://www.linkedin.com/in/harley-rotbart-m-d-4817a66/)[](https://www.harleyrotbart.com/youtube-features/) #### Explore - [About](/about) - [Books](/books) - [Blog](/blog) - [Contact](/#contact) #### Books - [The Countdown](/books/the-countdown) - [101 Lessons From The Dugout](/books/101-lessons) - [No Regrets Parenting](/books/no-regrets-parenting) - [No Regrets Living](/books/no-regrets-living) - [Miracles We Have Seen](/books/miracles-we-have-seen) #### Connect - [Blog Archive](https://www.harleyrotbart.com/blog/) - [Reviews & Appearances](https://www.harleyrotbart.com/reviews/) © 2026 Harley Rotbart, M.D. All rights reserved. Parenting Expert • Pediatrician • Author • Educator Made With [](https://heardmarketing.io)by [HEARD](https://heardmarketing.io)