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Mr. Jackson declared that love has become a melody lost among the video games, the evening news, the silence between parents and children, and the guns in schools. Children, he told the audience, are striking out against the indifference and neglect that they are receiving in their daily lives. He described a parent's job as one to change the world in which we live, because no one else can do it, and it is important that we do not wait any longer. With two kids of his own, Mr. Jackson said that he understood the balance that one needs between career and family and he also has a lot of knowledge about how we can begin to heal the parent-child relationship. He became very emotional as he spoke of the great torment experienced by the generations of today's kids. As Mr. Jackson finished giving his introduction, a large percentage of the audience rushed to the front of the stage, throwing flowers, gifts, posters and pictures, a few of which he accepted by hand. All desperately tried to touch him. The audience's eagerness to see, touch, and hear Mr. Jackson, was just further testament to the enormity of his fame. The next speaker was Dr. Stanley Greenspan, a practicing child psychologist, clinical professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at George Washington University Medical School and chairman of the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders. Dr. Greenspan spoke of the necessity of meeting children's basic needs and working with adult relationships. All children need physical care and protection, but a majority of children today are not receiving that which they deserve and need. Thinking, he told the audience, begins as early as infancy, when a smile gets a smile back. Therefore, emotional interaction, back and forth, leads to self-esteem and ability. Most children receive daycare for the first three years of their life, and most daycare situations are not seen as high quality care, even though the child is cared for over 30 hours a week. Dr. Greenspan said that we need to tailor the environment to the needs of our children. For example, school classes need to be smaller, with anywhere from 10-to-15 children, and testing will not take the place of gifted and supportive teachers. Nowadays, with both men and women pursuing their own competitive careers and aspirations, children are often put on the back burner. If children are not nurtured, they cannot succeed in life, because childhood affects their ability to empathize with others and work, create, and build with teams. This is the secret theme of evolution: each parent cares for their child two-thirds of the time, according to Dr. Greenspan's proposed "Four-Thirds Solution." Dr. Greenspan told the audience that no more children can be lost, and therefore parents need to divide their careers in this way in order to get involved with family life and support their children. Judith Regan, world-renowned book publisher and TV personality, was the next speaker and focused on balancing single parenthood with a demanding career and romance. She told the crowd that raising one's children is the most important work ever, because work and relationships come and go, but your children are forever. As a single mother, running a business, Ms. Regan says that she has raised her son into a man regardless of his father's absence. Mr. Johnnie Cochran, criminal trial lawyer and father of three, said that in terms of balancing priorities, parents need to see caring, nurturing, and raising their children as a fundamental responsibility. Time needs to be carved out for every child, even if this means including them in making plans. In order to give kids a sense of community, they need to have someone to reach out to, to touch, and to ask questions. Mother Love, a distinguished author, actress, and radio and television personality, spoke about keeping romance alive in the relationship, the home, and daily life. Mother Love herself has been married for twenty-eight years, and the most valuable advice that she gave about marriage is to make sure that marriage vows are intended wholeheartedly. She admonishes that one needs to make time for that person with whom you fell in love with and fall in love with them all over again each day. In the family relationship, children feel, see, and hear when their parents are hurting. Children may not understand what is going on, but they learn exactly what they are taught, so it is important for kids to see their parents loving and treating each other kindly. The only way for parents to know that they have done a good job, is when they recognize their children have become viable, productive members of society. If they are not fruitful members of society, it is because their parents did not teach them to be so. When you love yourself, Mother Love told the audience, you make better children, and you should never be too busy to love the ones you should love. Next Dr. Drew prepared to speak, and once again, people began to go to the stage in order to prepare for Mr. Jackson's second appearance. Dr. Drew spoke about the after-math of childhood on young adults. He said children require love because it affects their ability to feel good and be comfortable. In the present era, young adults are seen as able to rear themselves, when in actuality, they cannot care for themselves any better than a two-year old. Dr. Drew feels that parents don't advocate their responsibility correctly, but instead abuse, abandon, and intrude. One of the most important things that parents have to do, in Dr. Drew's opinion, is help their child find their passion and support it completely.
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