“I never thought the brightest smile would come from a mouth without teeth.”
— Iván Zapién
“…he is constantly reminding me that real magic doesn’t come from achieving the perfect appearance, from being Cinderella at the ball with both glass slippers and a killer hairstyle. The real magic is in the pumpkin, in the mice, in the moonlight; not beyond ordinary life, but within it.”
— Martha N. Beck
“They decided to allow their baby to be born. What they did not realize is that they themselves were the ones who would be ‘born,’ infants in a new world where magic is commonplace, Harvard professors are the slow learners, and retarded babies are the master teachers.”
— Martha N. Beck
“You’ll never be hurt as much by being open as you have been remaining closed.”
— Martha N. Beck
“I know he’s a good baby… but the challenge is to raise him into a good boy, then a good man.”
— Sarah Addison Allen
“I don’t want my kids to be like me. I want them to be better than me.”
— Katherine Center
“My parents were two-faced. To me, they showed no mercy. They preached from theBook of Fallen Children – Commandment 1: The Child Is Always Ungrateful. At eighteen, the free ride would stop, and I’d be dumped into the mess of the world. But in their private moments, they were soft, cowed by love. They critiqued their own parenting skills and thought of all the ways the could help their kids get ahead.”
— Ta-Nehisi Coates
“Turn off the device and take your child for a walk through the woods or on a hike up a mountain. Go on a camping trip. Late at night, when it’s absolutely dark, take your child’s hand and ask her to look up at the stars. Talk with her about the vastness of space and the tininess of our planet in the universe. That’s reality. That’s perspective.”
— Leonard Sax
“If you are able to talk about your life and the joys and sorrows you have experienced, if you know your story, you are much more likely to be a skillful parent.”
— Desmond Tutu
“There is no better example for our children,then the one we set before them every day”
— Davin Whitehurst
“On the last day of her visit I drove your grandmother to the airport. Your mother was her only child, as you are my only child, and having watched you grow I know that nothing could possibly be more precious to her. She said to me, “You take care of my daughter.”When she got out of the car my world had shifted. I felt that I had crossed some threshold out of the foyer of my life and into the living room. Everything that was the past seemed to be another life. There was before you and then there was after and in this after you were the god I’d never had. I submitted before your needs and I knew then that I must survive for something more than survival’s sake. I must survive for you.”
— Ta-Nehisi Coates
“By exempting your child from all chores, as many affluent American families now do, you are sending the message, “Your time is too valuable to be spent on menial tasks,” which easily morphs into the unintended message “You are too important to do menial tasks.” And that unintended message puffs up the bloated self-esteem that now characterizes many American kids.”
— Leonard Sax
“You are what you eat.”
— Nancy Ripton
“Letting go is hard for me. I have spent too many anxious moments and sleepless nights in worry over what would happen if I let go. Much like being part of a search-and-rescue effort, I would find myself always searching for the unexpected spins in life while preparing to rescue the outcome.”
— Eve M. Harrell
“Why am I not good at anything?””You’re a good dad.””It ain’t rocket science.”No, Vic thought. It was harder.”
— Joe Hill
“Then we talked a lot about our parents and how we didn’t want to become them, but we had no other role models–or “maps,” Alex kept saying. “My father is a terrible map, mostly because he doesn’t ever lead me anywhere.” And I thought about my parents being maps that led to places I didn’t want to go– and it made a shocking amount of sense, using the word maps to describe parents. If almost made you feel like you could fold Mom and Dad up and lock them away in the glove compartment of your car and just joyride for the rest of your life maybe.”
— Matthew Quick
“10 ways to raise a wild child. Not everyone wants to raise wild, free thinking children. But for those of you who do, here’s my tips: 1. Create safe space for them to be outside for a least an hour a day. Preferable barefoot & muddy. 2. Provide them with toys made of natural materials. Silks, wood, wool, etc…Toys that encourage them to use their imagination. If you’re looking for ideas, Google: ‘Waldorf Toys’. Avoid noisy plastic toys. Yea, maybe they’ll learn their alphabet from the talking toys, but at the expense of their own unique thoughts. Plastic toys that talk and iPads in cribs should be illegal. Seriously! 3. Limit screen time. If you think you can manage video game time and your kids will be the rare ones that don’t get addicted, then go for it. I’m not that good so we just avoid them completely. There’s no cable in our house and no video games. The result is that my kids like being outside cause it’s boring inside…hah! Best plan ever! No kid is going to remember that great day of video games or TV. Send them outside! 4. Feed them foods that support life. Fluoride free water, GMO free organic foods, snacks free of harsh preservatives and refined sugars. Good oils that support healthy brain development. Eat to live! 5. Don’t helicopter parent. Stay connected and tuned into their needs and safety, but don’t hover. Kids like adults need space to roam and explore without the constant voice of an adult telling them what to do. Give them freedom! 6. Read to them. Kids don’t do what they are told, they do what they see. If you’re on your phone all the time, they will likely be doing the same thing some day. If you’re reading, writing and creating your art (painting, cooking…whatever your art is) they will likely want to join you. It’s like Emilie Buchwald said, “Children become readers in the laps of their parents (or guardians).” – it’s so true! 7. Let them speak their truth. Don’t assume that because they are young that you know more than them. They were born into a different time than you. Give them room to respectfully speak their mind and not feel like you’re going to attack them. You’ll be surprised what you might learn. 8. Freedom to learn. I realize that not everyone can homeschool, but damn, if you can, do it! Our current schools system is far from the best ever. Our kids deserve better. We simply can’t expect our children to all learn the same things in the same way. Not every kid is the same. The current system does not support the unique gifts of our children. How can they with so many kids in one classroom. It’s no fault of the teachers, they are doing the best they can. Too many kids and not enough parent involvement. If you send your kids to school and expect they are getting all they need, you are sadly mistaken. Don’t let the public school system raise your kids, it’s not their job, it’s yours! 9. Skip the fear based parenting tactics. It may work short term. But the long term results will be devastating to the child’s ability to be open and truthful with you. Children need guidance, but scaring them into listening is just lazy. Find new ways to get through to your kids. Be creative! 10. There’s no perfect way to be a parent, but there’s a million ways to be a good one. Just because every other parent is doing it, doesn’t mean it’s right for you and your child. Don’t let other people’s opinions and judgments influence how you’re going to treat your kid. Be brave enough to question everything until you find what works for you. Don’t be lazy! Fight your urge to be passive about the things that matter. Don’t give up on your kid. This is the most important work you’ll ever do. Give it everything you have.”
— Brooke Hampton
“Historians have shown that “parents in the Middle Ages worried about their kids no less than we worry about ours today,” and by the nineteenth century there is evidence of bars being placed on windows to protect toddlers from falling out as well as “leading strings so that young children wouldn’t wander off during walks.”
— Alfie Kohn
“The gift of faith given to your children will last longer than any monetary gift.”
— Eve M. Harrell
“George watched this exchange with disappointment. “Performance parenting” was how Tina used to describe it. Seeking to charm listeners in public with one’s patience and good humor, using one’s child as a foil. Had George not been there, Emily would have told Nicholas to be quiet or no ice cream and that would have been the end of it.”
— Suzanne Berne
“If I never point out the sin and struggle in the hearts of my children, and merely direct their behavior to please me, then when will they know they need a Savior?”
— Kara Tippetts
“I just want to hold you close.” I gave Timby a squeeze. He relaxed in my embrace. “I’m wild about you, you know that, right?””I know.” He smiled up at me.”You don’t have to be wild about me too. Just try to like me a little more than you do now.”
— Maria Semple
“Maybe being a good parent is about improvisation and spontaneity. Maybe it’s about genuinely being with your kid. Sometimes though, it is also about being able to catch sick in yours hands.”
— Keith Stuart
“I’m not important, having a child is not an amazing feat, and my child, while extraordinarily important to and beloved by her parents, is not particularly special in the scheme of things.”
— Emily Flake
“Parents are not worried about young-ones’ failure, but only concerned about their lack of efforts. Youth who understand and address parents’ dilemma are the forerunners in life.”
— Sandeep Sahajpal
“A sense of purpose is essential for achieving happiness and satisfaction in life.”
— Julie Lythcott-Haims
“Like many parents in middle age, he’s quick to spot changes in the world, slow to note shifts in his own perspective.”
— Kathleen Rooney
“Somewhere along the line we stopped trying to fix the child that we had expected and started to enjoy the child that was.”
— Meg Blomfield
“That took the view that every misbehavior, every cruelty perpetuated by one kid on another should be let slide in the name of letting kids be kids? (Let them be kids, really let them, and you will end up with a tribe of bulimic eugenicists with huge amounts of credit card debt.)”
— Karl Taro Greenfeld
“Your children should not have to act appropriately so that you can feel like a valuable person. It is not their job to validate you or erase past relationship indictments against you with their performance. In a healthy Christian family children are not there for the adults, adults are there to be resources for their children.”
— Jeff VanVonderen