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Fred Rogers

Fred Rogers Quotes

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Famous Fred Rogers Quotes

“Imagine what our real neighbors would be like if each of us offered, as a matter of course, just one kind word to another person. There have been so many stories about the lack of courtesy, the impatience of today's world, road rage and even restaurant rage. Sometimes, all it takes is one kind word to nourish another person. Think of the ripple effect that can be created when we nourish someone. One kind empathetic word has a wonderful way of turning into many.”

KindnessKind WordsNeighbors
Book:The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember
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“A high school student wrote to ask, "What was the greatest event in American history?" I can't say. However, I suspect that like so many "great" events, it was something very simple and very quiet with little or no fanfare (such as someone forgiving someone else for a deep hurt that eventually changed the course of history). The really important "great" things are never center stage of life's dramas; they're always "in the wings". That's why it's so essential for us to be mindful of the humble and the deep rather than the flashy and the superficial.”

HumilityQuietUnderdogs
Book:The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember
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“When I was ordained, it was for a special ministry, that of serving children and families through television. I consider that what I do through "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" is my ministry. A ministry doesn't have to be only through a church, or even through an ordination. And I think we all can minister to others in this world by being compassionate and caring. I hope you will feel good enough about yourselves that you will want to minister to others, and that you will find your own unique ways to do that.”

MinistryMinisterMinisteringMinistering To One Another
Book:The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember
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“This is what I give. I give an expression of care every day to each child, to help him realize that he is unique. I end each program by saying, 'You've made this day a special day by just your being you. There's no person in the whole world like you. And I like you just the way you are.' And I feel that if we in public television can only make it clear that feelings are mentionable and manageable, we will have done a great service.”

IfsWorldWayGivingFeelsChildrenPersonsMadeEndsDoneWholeHelpingFeelingsCareRealizingClearSpecialTelevisionExpressionLike YouUniqueProgramWhole WorldThis DayI Like YouManageableGreat Service
Author:Fred Rogers
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“Children who have learned to be comfortably dependent can become not only comfortably independent but also comfortable with having people depend on them. They can lean, stand, and be leaned upon, because they know what a good feeling it can be to feel needed.”

PeopleKnowsFeelsChildrenFeelingsDependsNeededComfortableIndependentDependentGood Feeling
Book:You Are Special: Words of Wisdom for All Ages from a Beloved Neighbor
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“It's not always easy for a father to understand the interests and ways of his son. It seems the songs of our children may be in keys we've never tried. The melody of each generation emerges from all that's gone before. Each one of us contributes in some unique way to the composition of life.”

WayMayChildrenSeemsSongFatherEasyInterestGoneGenerationsSonKeysUniqueOur ChildrenMelodyComposition
Book:Wisdom from the World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember
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“I recently learned that in an average lifetime a person walks about sixty-five thousand miles. That's two and a half times around the world. I wonder where your steps will take you. I wonder how you'll use the rest of the miles you're given.”

WorldPersonsTwoUseGivenWalksHalfWonderStepsFiveThousandLifetimeAverageMilesAround The WorldSixtyThousand MilesHalf Time
Book:You Are Special: Words of Wisdom for All Ages from a Beloved Neighbor
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“Very frankly, I am opposed to people being programmed by others. My whole approach in broadcasting has always been 'You are an important person just the way you are. You can make healthy decisions.' Maybe I'm going on too long, but I just feel that anything that allows a person to be more active in the control of his or her life, in a healthy way, is important.”

PeopleWayFeelsPersonsLongImportantWholeDecisionHealthyApproachActiveBroadcastingImportant Person
Author:Fred Rogers
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“I've often hesitated in beginning a project because I've thought, 'It'll never turn out to be even remotely like the good idea I have as I start.' I could just 'feel' how good it could be. but I decided that, for the present, I would create the best way I know how and accept the ambiguities.”

KnowsWayFeelsIdeasTurnsAcceptingKnow HowProjectsDecidedBest WayGood IdeasAmbiguity
Book:You Are Special: Words of Wisdom for All Ages from a Beloved Neighbor
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“There are many things children accept as "grown-up things" over when they have no control and for which they have no responsibility--for instance, weddings, having babies, buying houses, and driving cars. Parents who are separating really need to help their children put divorce on that grown-up list, so that children do not see themselves as the cause of their parents' decision to live apart.”

NeedsChildrenHelpingHouseCausesParentDecisionResponsibilityAcceptingCarBabyDivorceListsDrivingInstanceBuyingSeparatingHaving A BabyDriving CarsBuying A House
Author:Fred Rogers
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“One way to think about play, is as the process of finding new combinations for known things--combinations that may yield new formsof expression, new inventions, new discoveries, and new solutions....It's exactly what children's play seems to be about and explains why so many people have come to think that children's play is so important a part of childhood--and beyond.”

PeopleThinkingWayMayChildrenImportantPlaySeemsProcessKnownChildhoodExpressionFindingsSolutionsDiscoveryInventionOne WayCombinationYieldNew DiscoveriesNew Inventions
Author:Fred Rogers
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“We've forgotten what it's like not to be able to reach the light switch. We've forgotten a lot of the monsters that seemed to livein our room at night. Nevertheless, those memories are still there, somewhere inside us, and can sometimes be brought to the surface by events, sights, sounds, or smells. Children, though, can never have grown-up feelings until they've been allowed to do the growing.”

ChildrenStillsSometimesFeelingsLightAbleNightSoundMemoriesRoomsGrowingEventsSightForgottenSmellSurfaceMonstersNevertheless
Author:Fred Rogers
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“Parenting forces us to get to know ourselves better than we ever might have imagined we could--and in many new ways. . . . We'll discover talents we never dreamed we had and fervently wish for others at moments we feel we desperately need them. As time goes on, we'll probably discover that we have more to give and can give more than we ever imagined. But we'll also find that there are limits to our giving, and that may be hard for us to accept.”

KnowsWayNeedsGivingFeelsMayHardMomentsMightForceWishAcceptingTalentGoes OnLimitsParenthoodNew WaysTime Goes On
Author:Fred Rogers
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“I don't believe that children can develop in a healthy way unless they feel that they have value apart from anything they own or any skill that they learn. They need to feel they enhance the life of someone else, that they are needed. Who, better than parents, can let them know that?”

KnowsWayNeedsFeelsBelieveChildrenValuesParentNeededHealthySkillsDon't Believe
Book:You Are Special: Words of Wisdom for All Ages from a Beloved Neighbor
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“Love is at the root of all healthy discipline. The desire to be loved is a powerful motivation for children to behave in ways thatgive their parents pleasure rather than displeasure. it may even be our own long-ago fear of losing our parents' love that now sometimes makes us uneasy about setting and maintaining limits. We're afraid we'll lose the love of our children when we don't let them have their way.”

WayMayChildrenLongSometimesDesireMotivationParentLosesLove IsPleasurePowerfulDisciplineHealthyLimitsLosingRootsOur ChildrenSettingSettingsBehaveLong AgoMaintainingUneasyParents LoveDispleasure
Book:You Are Special: Words of Wisdom for All Ages from a Beloved Neighbor
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“The roots of a child's ability to cope and thrive, regardless of circumstance, lie in that child's having had at least a small, safe place (an apartment? a room? a lap?) in which, in the companionship of a loving person, that child could discover that he or she was lovable and capable of loving in return. If a child finds this during the first years of life, he or she can grow up to be a competent, healthy person.”

IfsYearsFirstsChildrenPersonsLyingGrowsAbilityRoomsGrowing UpReturnCircumstancesHealthySafeCapableRootsThriveApartmentCompanionshipLapCompetentLovableSafe PlacesYears Of LifeLoving PersonHealthy Person
Book:Many Ways to Say I Love You: Wisdom for Parents and Children from Mister Rogers
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“It is one of the paradoxes of parenting, and often a painful paradox, that even as our children need us for love and trust, they also need us for honest differing. It's not only over limits and rules...[but also] about what we represent in the way of culture, traditions, and values. We owe it to our children to let them know what we believe, and if they differ with us, we owe it to them to be honest adversaries, for it is through this honest confrontation that children can grow into adults who have a firm sense of their place in the sequence of the generations.”

IfsKnowsWayNeedsBelieveChildrenValuesCultureGrowsGenerationsHonestLimitsAdultsTraditionOur ChildrenPainfulBeing HonestFirmParadoxSequenceAdversariesConfrontationLove And Trust
Author:Fred Rogers
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“More and more I've come to understand that listening is one of the most important things we can do for one another. Whether the other be an adult or a child, our engagement in listening to who that person is can often be our greatest gift. Whether that person is speaking or playing or dancing, building or singing or painting, if we care, we can listen.”

IfsChildrenPersonsImportantCareCan DoBuildingPaintingListeningSingingAdultsImportant ThingsDancingEngagementGreatest GiftsOften Is
Book:Wisdom from the World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember
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