Leading the Village That Raises a Child

With Nick Cannon recently announcing that he has another child on the way, making him a father of eight with five mothers of his children, it has sparked conversation on how and if you can be an active parent with multiple children in different households. The Transition House defines an active parent as “a technique based on psychological principles that promote positive interactions between a parent and a child.”

The healthy interactions between the parents and children have to be consistent in order to have a long-lasting positive impact.

Self-esteem, morality, problem-solving skills, effective communication and listening, and simply learning about a person does not happen overnight and requires extreme forms of dedication from a parent to their child. This dedication requires time and with everyone having 24 hours in a day and for most parents having to work in the midst of those 24 hours, it can be extremely difficult to tend to five different households each day.

Furthermore, although there are 7 days a week and in theory, each household can be visited at least once a week, that still is not enough time to ensure that all eight kids are receiving the dedication that they would need to actually have an active father. Also, with Nick Cannon having a career that requires frequent travel and not having all of his children living in the same state or city, this presents even more difficult for him to be present consistently and effectively. This can cause issues with the children feeling inferior to their other siblings if they don’t receive the same treatment.

Overall, Nick Cannon is not the first parent to have this situation with their children but with him being a public figure, his situation has brought this conversation to the forefront and has required people to possibly shift their thinking on whether or not they can be an active parent with the circumstances they have. Children deserve love and dedication from the people who are responsible for bringing them into this world and those parents have to ensure they can give that to their children.