I think it's important that kids have responsibilities and

Salma Hayek, in the tenderness of a mother’s heart, once proclaimed: “I think it’s important that kids have responsibilities and understand the value of things, but I think it’s great I get to travel the world with my daughter.” Though her words are gentle, they carry the strength of eternal wisdom. In them we hear two truths woven together: that children must learn the weight of responsibility if they are to grow strong, and yet they must also be nourished by the joys of shared experience, the treasures of love, and the wonders of a world that stretches beyond the horizon.

The origin of this statement lies not only in Hayek’s role as a mother, but in her journey from Mexico to Hollywood, from humble beginnings to the heights of fame. She knows, as all who rise from little to much must know, that the value of things is not in their abundance, but in the struggle that earns them. By teaching her daughter the importance of responsibility, she teaches her the same lesson she herself once lived: that nothing worth holding comes without effort, and that wealth without wisdom is but dust in the wind.

Yet, in the same breath, she rejoices in the gift of travel—the chance to walk with her daughter across the wide earth, to gaze upon new lands, to taste new cultures, and to share in the marvel of discovery. This balance—between responsibility and wonder, between discipline and delight—is the very heart of her teaching. For if we give our children only duties, we risk making them weary before their time; and if we give them only pleasures, we risk leaving them unrooted and fragile. True wisdom lies in giving them both: the roots of responsibility, and the wings of joy.

History itself testifies to this truth. Consider the young Alexander, tutored by Aristotle. The philosopher taught him the weight of philosophy, governance, and responsibility. Yet Alexander also journeyed with his father, King Philip, across the Greek world, seeing lands, armies, and cultures beyond his own. It was this blend—the discipline of learning and the wonder of travel—that shaped him into the man who would later carry his empire across continents. So too does Hayek’s reflection remind us: the shaping of a child is not by work alone, nor by play alone, but by the union of both.

Her words also echo the wisdom of family. For to travel with one’s child is not simply to see the world, but to pass on memories that no gold can purchase. It is in those journeys that lessons sink deeper than lectures—when a child learns that the world is vast, that people are many, that life is both fragile and grand. To walk beside a parent in distant lands is to be both protected and guided, to see through the eyes of love, and to discover that responsibility and joy are not separate roads, but one path walked together.

The lesson, then, is this: give your children both anchors and sails. Teach them the value of things, the dignity of work, the sacredness of responsibility. But also show them beauty, wonder, and love. Do not let them grow hardened by burden, nor softened by ease. Instead, guide them as gardeners guide a tree: with deep roots in the soil and branches that stretch toward the sky.

In practice, this means involving children in daily responsibilities—chores, gratitude for what they possess, respect for what they earn. Yet also, it means making time for shared adventures, whether to foreign lands or simply to the next town, where new sights and new memories await. The heart of Hayek’s wisdom is not in the scale of the journey, but in the togetherness of it. Responsibility teaches weight, travel teaches wonder, love teaches both.

Thus, Salma Hayek’s words shine like a lantern for parents and children alike. “I think it’s important that kids have responsibilities and understand the value of things, but I think it’s great I get to travel the world with my daughter.” Let them remind us that to raise the next generation is to balance discipline with joy, to weave duty with love, and to walk together through life, hand in hand, as teacher and companion. For in this union lies not only the making of responsible children, but the shaping of radiant souls who know both the value of toil and the splendour of life’s journey.