Remarkably, in the past 30 years, the number of children dying every year around the world has been cut in half because of global partners working together to get simple vaccines and antibiotics to children to fight common killers like pneumonia and diarrhea.

This week, world leaders are gathering in Washington, D.C., for a “Call to Action” co-hosted by the United States, India, Ethiopia and UNICEF with the intention of creating a step-by-step road map for ending preventable childhood death within a generation. Within a generation!

Most of the costs of these programs will be carried by the 10 countries with the highest number of deaths from pneumonia and diarrhea, but continued support by the U.S. and other donor countries is necessary for this goal to be achieved.

While he was gone mere seconds – insufficient time for me to even dial 911 on my cell phone – someone easily could have just hopped into the car and sped off, child in tow.

What is behind someone doing this? Is it arrogance? A sense of invulnerability? Or, mere stupidity? Whatever – it is shocking, disturbing and criminal. I only wish a police officer had been present and witnessed this lack of common sense.

After all the recent news reports of cars with kids being driven off because their parent or the responsible adult couldn’t be bothered to just turn the car off and take the child with them, you would think the message had gotten through. It hasn’t, and probably never will.

I know many folks won’t like hearing this, but I’ll bet others probably wish it had been said a long time ago: Your decision to have a child is your choice. Don’t impose your inability to deal with the consequences on others.

Whatever you say about “accidents,” “my folks wanted grandchildren,” “it’s a biological mandate,” “it’s my right,” etc., you alone are responsible. Much of our trouble today stems from letting emotion supplant reason.

Having chosen to be childless, I find myself surrounded by a culture biased toward those who decide otherwise. Before branding me as intolerant, consider: Singles pay much higher income tax rates thanks to exemptions given others (particularly child tax credits); they pay for schools upon which they’ve placed no burden; and face the pressures of overpopulation through dwindling resources, traffic congestion, high housing costs, heavy competition for jobs and rising crime rates as government refuses to exert leadership on these issues.

I know and accept the responsibility society has for the well-being of new generations. But my patience isn’t infinite.

Just as you wouldn’t take a screamer into a movie theater, you are even more inconsiderate taking one into a crowded airplane. Plan on two or three years staying home with them or giving them a Benadryl if you don’t. Or expect dirty looks!

I would like to see public education require instruction in basic home finance and a brutally honest portrayal of what awaits someone considering becoming a parent.

I love my mother. And I’ll bet that you love yours, too.

In her article, Celia Jackson discussed raising children and how it takes more than just two people. There is an African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.”

I couldn’t agree more. I haven’t had kids yet, but I have grown up with many adults whom I have known my entire life. I have been raised a churchgoer, which has amounted to the influence of many different people on my upbringing. There are people who have known me since I was born who babysat me, tutored me and overall helped me grow. I know that I would be a completely different person without this interaction with people besides my parents.

These experiences have left a positive imprint on my character for good, and I know that when I raise my children it will be with the help of my community. This is how it should be done.

We live in a world where people are growing farther and farther apart with the growth of technology, and this limits a child’s ability to learn and grow from other people. It is crucial that we find ways to interact with each other in order to make the most of everything around us.