In response to a single mother's question about how to raise her daughter with good values, Acharya Prashant begins by stating that being a single parent can be a good thing, not a problem. He humorously suggests that it is better for one person to spoil a child than two. He explains that usually, a child faces a double attack from the father and mother, paternal and maternal grandmothers, and a host of other relatives. He asserts that it takes an entire clan to ruin a child, and they all work together to perform the child's last rites. He gives an example of a dashing uncle who, while buying a balloon for the child, is actually ogling women, and the child observes this behavior. The child, he says, is not just looking at the balloon but also at what the uncle is doing at the crossroads. Acharya Prashant emphasizes that what a child truly needs most is solitude. He clarifies that the smaller problem is not receiving good values; the bigger problem is being given poison in the name of good values. While values are certainly necessary, one must first know what constitutes a good value. He likens values to medicine. Since a child is born sick with tendencies (vrittis), they need to be given values. However, only an expert is qualified to administer medicine. We, on the other hand, have given this right to everyone who comes along. Everyone feels they are the authority in these matters. Whoever comes along imposes themselves on the child, saying, "We will tell you, do this, do that." He illustrates the confusion this creates with an example: a father asks his daughter for a kiss in exchange for a toffee. The next day, when the father is irritated after returning from the office, he slaps her for the same act. Later, feeling guilty, he takes her to the market and buys her a chocolate. The child is left bewildered by this algorithm of toffee, slap, and chocolate, unable to understand the rules of the game. These small, everyday matters are what spirituality is about. An aware person does not make these mistakes. We lose the battle of life daily in the small things—in the kitchen, at the office, in the market. Our entire destruction is almost complete by the age of five, seven, or eight. Acharya Prashant advises the questioner to discard the notion that a large family is needed for a good upbringing. Instead, she needs to protect her child from the many polluted people. He states that even she, as the mother, does not have much right to impose on her child. The greatest favor she can do for her child is not to spoil her. Before taking any step to impart values, she should ask herself a hundred times, "How do I know this value is correct?" He concludes by reiterating that while good values are essential, the problem is that if the mother herself is unconscious, she will cause great harm to the child.