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We recently got the DVD version of the movie "March of the Penguins." The grandsons hadn't seen it and were wary about watching it. After all, it had nothing to do with "Star Wars" or battling monsters, so how good could it be?

But we, Grandpa and I, stood our ground, and soon we were all completely captured by those funny-looking critters in their harsh environment in the Antarctic.

One particular scene caught my attention. At one point the penguins must protect their egg by holding it off the frozen ground with their feet. The parents of the egg take turns carrying it. As we watched this fascinating procedure we saw that there were several penguin couples that flubbed the job, dropping the egg, which landed on the ice and froze immediately. When this happened the parent penguins had the same expression of bewilderment on their faces I've seen, more often than I like to remember, on the faces of human parents.

It seems there are creatures of every kind not ready or skilled enough to take care of a child. We see it all the time. The screaming youngster in the supermarket or the restaurant or on the airplane. The couple who went to Las Vegas to gamble while their children, age 10 and younger, were left alone in their home to care for themselves?

We don't have to look far to see how many parents are ill suited for the responsibilities of parenthood. What these ignorant parents don't realize is that if they can't learn to control their toddlers, they certainly won't be able to hold sway over their children when they grow into teenagers.

A child's world starts at the moment he is born. What he sees and hears from day one will create either a child who has no boundaries and is left frightened and insecure or a happy, contented, well-mannered youngster. Children learn from their environment. If the parents are irresponsible, how can the child be any different? The easiest and most satisfying way to raise a child is to instill values you want to see in him from day one.

That means paying attention to your child, listening to him, and most of all responding to his needs. Too many of today's parents are all about me. Instead of being grownup they are still behaving like children themselves. Children shouldn't be raising children.

Our lifespan in these days of good health care has increased considerably from those of our parents and grandparents. We have a long future in which to live out all our dreams if we so desire. Today having a baby at forty or more is no longer the oddity it was when my aunt had her son fifty years ago. In those days the doctors were most concerned that such an old mother, especially for a first child, was endangering her life. Today I have friends having babies well into their late forties looking and feeling great. There's much to be said for having babies when you're older when you're more ready to give up some of your life for your child's welfare.

Having a baby is not a game. It's a serious and important job for both parents. Bringing another life into this world should not be about vanity or boredom or having something because everyone else has one. A baby isn't a toy. Its needs are mighty and it takes a lot of doing to raise a child. Making a baby saps more than just the calcium from the mother's bones. It's a full-time job from day one. Parenting is not a game, but it can be a delight when it's done right.

It's not just penguins who destroy their progeny because they aren't up to the job of parenting. People do it as well.