If we are to create a culture change that provides for the safe social evolution of democratic societies, humbly it must begin within families and the enculturation of each new generation. Discovering the best practices of child rearing and parenthood would go far to help produce children who grow into adulthood to become socially responsible and competent citizens, innovators, leaders, and decision-makers.

Raising children who are peaceful, socially responsible, and reasonably contented with life is not a miracle but the result of conscientiously applying the best practices of child rearing and parenting. Among every generation of children around the world there are many who have become well adjusted, functionally social, contented, and curious from having been raised by caring and loving parents who somehow knew how to raise their children that way. I truly believe that the wisdom of sound child rearing and parenting practices already exists but simply needs to be collected, organized, collated, and made assertively available in each local community. Doing so would have a profound effect on the civility of our communities and societies, our politics and government operation, as well as financial and economic equity.

Perhaps the most convincing evidence of successful child rearing and parenting skills is in the lives of well adjusted adults in hundreds of cultures around the world waiting to be revealed in field research and a survey of social science research studies. A search for that wisdom would include almost two centuries of social science research, including the work of Margaret Meade whose early research of indigenous cultures could guide our search today.

Though there already exist many parenting and child rearing books, manuals, and articles, none were based on the seven values that have sustained our species. Discovering and validating the best practices of child rearing using those values would result in a universal parenting guide that would be applicable to all people of all races, ethnic groups, cultures, religions, and political preferences, without the inherent bias and self-interest of those groups. A universal, multi-cultural guide of those “best practices” would help new parents in all nations raise their children without guessing or assuming they already knew.