<p><em>They are the sons and daughters </em></p>

<p><em>of Life&rsquo;s longing for itself. </em></p>

<p><em>They come through you but not from you,</em></p>

<p><em>&nbsp;And though they are with you yet </em></p>

<p><em>they belong not to you. </em></p>

<p><em>You may give them your love but not your thoughts, </em></p>

<p><em>For they have their own thoughts. </em></p>

<p><em>You may house their bodies but not their souls, </em></p>

<p><em>For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, </em></p>

<p><em>which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.</em></p>

<p><em>You may strive to be like them, </em></p>

<p><em>but seek not to make them like you. </em></p>

<p><em>For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. </em></p>

<p><em>You are the bows from which your children </em></p>

<p><em>as living arrows are sent forth (...)&rdquo; </em></p>

<p style="text-align:center"><img alt="" height="347" src="/sites/lexpress/files/images/gallery/kahlil_gibran_1913.jpg" width="242" /></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

Lebanese-American poet Khalil Gibran has probably couched down some of the most poignant writings on children — and about parents› tasks while nurturing children. His poems have this magical quality, the more you read them the more you get the significance.

Gibran›s immortal, dogma-free, words remind us that we, as proud parents, do not often realize that we are only a mere medium through which life expresses itself.

They furthermore underscore the possessiveness we often exhibit regarding our children — who are not our possessions. In fact, the only possible gift we can give to our children remains unconditional love. 

Although we might need them to fulfill our own ambitions, we should not seek to make them like us. We are parents, not investors.

***

The relationship between politics and children is well documented and rather complex. In the US, for instance, Barack Obama tried his best to protect his two daughters from public scrutiny. But in his speeches he always mentions his kids each time he speaks about gun violence. Journalists argued that politicians tend to walk a very fine line and have a double standard. Presidential candidates are always photographed with their children and do not hesitate to deploy them to score political points.

We still remember how the then-candidate Bill Clinton and wife Hillary Rodham Clinton posed for a cover magazine with their daughter Chelsea, who was then 12 years old. This was meant to be «a sunny image of a nuclear family that may have helped voters put aside concerns about accusations of the candidate›s philandering past.»

Historically, children have played a pivotal role in the political iconography of monarchies. Many rulers exhibit their children so as to project general symbols of the future, while at the same time communicating a promise of continuity and tranquility.

But things have not quite changed in modern democracies. Dynastic thinking has not disappeared, has it ?