A child is not beholden to any particular parent

[GoodTaste]

Does the phrase "a child is not beholden to any particular parent" mean "a child should not be held responsible to their parents"?

Beholden is defined as "feeling you have a duty to someone who has done something for you." So I guess the phrase means "a child need not be grateful to their parents." I am not sure. I am not familiar with the word beholden.

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Bruno Bettelheim: A child is not beholden to any particular parent

Background: Bruno's observation of kibbutz shows that children living in a kibbutz become more successful in society when grown up than children reared by parents. So he concluded "A child is not beholden to any particular parent."

Source: The Psychology Book (the background above is written by me in an attempt to offer a summary)

 

[tedmc]

"a child is not beholden to any particular parent"

I think it means that a child does not owe either parent a duty to repay them for bringing him/her up. The parent's responsiblity to bring up a child is not reciprocal.

 

[teechar]

I think it means that a child does not owe either parent a duty to repay them for bringing him/her up.

That's correct.

The parent's responsibility to bring up a child is not reciprocal.

The underlined part is unnatural, because children do not bring up parents. Try something like: " ... should be unconditional" instead.

 

[Tdol]

Also, I think it means that anyone can be a parent to a child- DNA doesn't matter.

 

[Skrej]

See the section on children under the Wikipedia article , which elaborates on this philosophy.

Essentially, it's a communal system of rearing children which eschews the traditional relationship between parents and biological offspring. Parents are not solely responsible for raising their kids - it's a community effort. Therefore the children are beholden to the entire community, not just their parents. The thought is that it instills a mindset of community service versus individualism.

It's a quite literal interpretation of the adage that "it takes a village to raise a child".