Quotes About Parenting

Children do not yearn for equal shares of love: They need to be loved uniquely, not uniformly. The emphasis is on quality, not equality. We

Provoked lies. Parents should not ask questions that are likely to cause defensive lying. Children resent being interrogated by a parent, especially when they suspect that the answers are already known. They hate questions that are traps, questions that force them to choose between an awkward lie and an embarrassing confession. Quentin,

Empathy, a parent's ability to understand what a child is feeling, is an important and valuable ingredient of child rearing.

What is the goal of parenting? It's to help a child grow up to be a decent human being, a mensch, a person with compassion, commitment, and caring.

In criticism parents attack children's personality attributes and their character. In guidance we state the problem and a possible solution. We say nothing to the child about himself or herself. When

Why do children lie? Sometimes they lie because they are not allowed to tell the truth. Four-year-old

Communication with children should be based on respect and on skill; it requires (a) that messages preserve the child's as well as the parent's self-respect; and (b) that statements of understanding precede statements of advice or instruction. Eric,

Young children have genuine difficulty in coping with their socially unacceptable impulses. The parents must be an ally in the child's struggle for control of such impulses. By setting limits, the parent offers help to the child. Besides stopping dangerous conduct, the limit also conveys a silent message: You don't have to be afraid of your impulses. I won't let you go too far. It is safe. Techniques

A limit must be stated in a manner that is deliberately calculated to minimize resentment, and to save self-respect. The very process of limit-setting, of saying "no," should convey authority, not insult. It should deal with a specific event, not with a developmental history.

Responsibility in children starts with the parents' attitude and skills. The attitudes include a willingness to allow children to feel all their feelings; the skills include an ability to demonstrate to children acceptable ways of coping with feelings. The

A limit should be so stated that it tells the child clearly (a) what constitutes unacceptable conduct; (b) what substitute will be accepted.

Anger should be expressed in a way that brings some relief to the parent, some insight to the child, and no harmful side effects to either of them.

A warning serves as a challenge to the child's autonomy.

The single most important rule is that praise deal only with children's efforts and accomplishments, not with their character and personality. When

An empathic response that mirrors to children their upset feelings and expresses the parents' sympathy and understanding is effective in changing children's angry moods. The

Words of praise should mirror for the child a realistic picture of her accomplishments, not a distorted image of her personality.

The limit against hitting a parent should not be modified under any circumstances. Effective upbringing is based on mutual respect between parent and child without the parent's abdicating the adult role.

If you want your children to improve, let them overhear the nice things you say about them to others.

While parents possess the original key to their offspring's experience, teachers have a spare key. They, too, can open or close the minds and hearts of children.

A wise man once said that next to losing its mother, there is nothing more healthy for a child than to lose its father.

The mother loves her child most divinely, not when she surrounds him with comfort and anticipates his wants, but when she resolutely holds him to the highest standards and is content with nothing less than his best.

Honestly, I'm just so fed up with you. I'm at my wits' end.' Since my mother is always at her wits' end, I'm surprised she had any wits left.

Being a parent is not for the faint of heart. I may joke about knowing fear, but the fact is, the first time I ever knew real fear was the day Charlotte, my first child, was born. Suddenly there is someone in the world you care about more than anything.

Kids don't do what their parents say-they do what they see their parents do. So who was to blame here?