Yesterday, education secretary Charles Clarke announced that in future, head teachers who request it will be given powers to fine parents whose children consistently play truant from school. Discipline, he said, begins at home. The announcement will spark controversy; but it did something important, namely, to raise the question: what are the responsibilities of parents?

Today in the west we're engaged in an experiment that's never been tried before, a world where marriage is optional, stable families increasingly rare, and where almost all the responsibilities of parenthood can be delegated away: education to schools, law enforcement to the police, and care to child minders or welfare agencies. In America the average child spends four hours a day watching television, and only 40 minutes a week talking to its parents. In the words of Robert Reich, the family, like the business corporation, is being downsized and outsourced. Rarely has parenthood been surrounded by so much confusion or held in such low esteem. And that's bad news.

One of the most beautiful things the Hebrew Bible gave the world was the idea that G-d isn't just a power but also a parent. We call him our father. Or, as G-d said through the prophet Isaiah, "Like one whom his mother comforts, so will I comfort you." I love the comment of one new mother who said: "Since I've become a parent I can relate much more closely to God. Now I know what it's like to create something you can't control." And in the one verse in the entire Bible which explains why G-d chose Abraham to be the founder of a new faith, it says, "I have chosen him so that he will teach his children and his household after him to keep the way of the lord, doing what is right and just." What made Abraham and Sarah special in G-d's eyes was simply that they understood the responsibilities of parenthood.

Without the help of parents, even the best school and the finest teachers may fail. Even the most gifted child may face emotional difficulties. I know that what I most loved about my parents was that they gave us, their children, time. When we did well we knew we were giving them pride. There is no more awesome responsibility than bringing new life into the world, and having done so we can't just walk away and leave the rest to others. It isn't just discipline, but much else besides, that begins at home. Which is why we have to rediscover the truth that parenthood isn't a burden but the greatest privilege of all.

© Copyright Office of the Chief Rabbi 2001 - all rights reserved. Reproduction of this Web site, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from the Office of the Chief Rabbi is prohibited.