“Every once in a while, parents give birth to a temperamental replica of themselves, but usually we have to get over the universal, narcissistic wish to have a clone and come to grips with the fact that our children are truly unique. Some parents arrive at that place of wisdom more easily and with more grace than others. It is a help to our children when we get there relatively quickly, so that they don’t have to beat us over the head with their differences.”
Source: Best Friends, Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social Lives of Children
“You should look for opportunities to turn your child into a social leader. Brownies, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Indian Guides, National Outdoor Leadership Schools, church and synagogue youth groups, and almost any type of community service opportunities are extraordinarily helpful to popular children. These opportunities allow them to turn their attractive traits into concrete acts of generosity toward others. Good leaders show respect toward other people; good leaders use win-win strategies. It is not enough for children to be smart or to be able to reflect on moral problems. Children need to be put into situations where they can practice moral acts - and that is true of the socially gifted as it is of kids who veer toward the antisocial. We have to give our naturally popular children the moral guidance to make them into true leaders.”
Source: Best Friends, Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social Lives of Children
“I know that I have said you need to be aware of your child’s social position. I know too that it is often difficult to draw a clear line between the exchange of information and gossip. But there is a line, and it has to do with motivation.”
Source: Best Friends, Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social Lives of Children
“A combination of television and the stresses peculiar to two-income or single-parent families has swallowed up most of what used to be family time as well. Our kids have no time left to grow up fully human and only thin-soil wastelands to do it in.”
Source: Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling
“We can learn a lot from young children and infants who are able to shift from agitation to amusement in a moment simply by having their needs met. Once crying newborns get fed, held, or changed, they don’t brood for another hour about how mad they are that it took so long for their caregivers to respond; they shift instantly. Unfortunately, we lose this ability and develop instead a habit of thinking and rationalizing our way through problems.”
“Be the smile of God to your children.”
Source: The Things of Earth: Treasuring God by Enjoying His Gifts
“Neoracists believe that we must indoctrinate children to cure them of racism. I say that children are racially innocent by nature, and we should protect that racial innocence for as long as possible.”
Source: The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America
“There was something about children and animals liking you that felt especially honest.”
Source: In This Iron Ground
“Liberty is not a middle position between legalism and license; it is another thing entirely. We have a hard time with this. Liberty is not moderate legalism or moderated license. Liberty is stricter than legalism, and liberty is freer than license.”
Source: Why Children Matter
“To the countless children missing or taken by the darkness of the world. You are more than a story. You are more than words on a page. You are loved, you are missed, and you are not forgotten.”
Source: As the Wicked Watch