Too many people treat parenting like it's the 20th item on their

The words of John Kennedy resound like a warning bell: “Too many people treat parenting like it's the 20th item on their to-do list.” In this short, sharp declaration lies a truth that pierces through the noise of modern life. We live in an age of endless tasks, ceaseless ambitions, and unrelenting demands. But Kennedy reminds us that among all duties, parenting cannot be relegated to the margins, cannot be delayed, cannot be treated as a footnote. For in the hierarchy of responsibilities, raising a child is not item number twenty—it is the foundation upon which all else rests.

The ancients knew this truth deeply. They taught that the measure of a person was not in wealth or conquest but in the legacy of their children. Kings who failed in governance of their households were remembered with scorn, while humble parents who raised noble offspring were celebrated through generations. To treat parenting as an afterthought is to forget that it is the soil from which tomorrow’s leaders, thinkers, and builders will grow. Kennedy’s words call us back to this ancient understanding: to prioritize children above the fleeting busyness of tasks.

History gives us vivid testimony. Consider the great statesman Marcus Aurelius, who ruled an empire yet lamented in his Meditations that even emperors cannot neglect the teaching of their children. His failure to instill wisdom in his son Commodus led to the decline of Rome’s golden age. What good was the empire’s wealth and power if the next generation was ill-prepared to carry it forward? This story embodies Kennedy’s warning: when parenting is pushed to the bottom of the list, the cost is not only personal but civilizational.

Kennedy’s words also strike against the illusion of multitasking. Too many parents, overwhelmed by careers, ambitions, and the pursuit of comfort, give only the leftovers of their time and energy to their children. The child, waiting silently, receives hurried attention, shallow guidance, fragmented love. Yet the truth is this: children do not need perfection, but they do need presence. They do not require endless luxuries, but they require time, attention, and care. To place them as the 20th task is to deny them the very soil in which love takes root.

The wisdom here is humbling: every task we complete in life—our work, our wealth, our accomplishments—may fade, but the impact of parenting endures for generations. The child who is guided with patience and love becomes the adult who shapes the world. The child who is neglected becomes the adult who carries wounds into the future. Thus, Kennedy’s words are not only personal counsel but also a warning to societies: when families neglect the sacred duty of raising children, nations crumble from within.

The lesson for us is clear: reorder your priorities. Do not treat parenting as an afterthought. Give it the best of your time, your heart, your strength. Make space each day to speak with your children, to listen, to teach, to laugh, to be present. These small acts matter more than the dozens of tasks that clamor for your attention. When you place your children near the top of your life’s list, you honor both them and the generations yet to come.

Practically, this means creating rhythms that elevate family above distraction. Turn off devices at the table. Set aside sacred hours for your children. Guard against the temptation to treat work as more urgent than presence. And when you are weary, remember that every effort you make in parenting multiplies far beyond your own life, echoing into the lives your children will touch.

Thus, John Kennedy’s words must be remembered as both a rebuke and a call to action: “Too many people treat parenting like it's the 20th item on their to-do list.” Let us not be among them. Let us rise with the wisdom of the ancients, placing the raising of children not at the bottom but at the center of our lives. For in this, we not only honor our children—we secure the strength of the generations to come.