“[Among the Arapeh... both father and mother are held responsible for child care by the entire community...] If one comments upon a middle-aged man as good-looking, the people answer: 'Good-looking? Ye-e-e-s? But you should have seen him before he bore all those children'.” PeopleIfsMenShouldChildrenCareMotherFatherCommunityAnswersMiddleShould HaveResponsibleCommentBoresLooking GoodMiddle AgedChild Care Author:Margaret Mead
“A great need a mother has to know that her daughters will find somebody or will be okay in life. That's very primal as they get older. You know, you should get married, you should have children.” KnowsNeedsShouldChildrenMotherMarriedDaughterShould HaveOkayPrimal Author:Christine Baranski
“The death of my mother permanently affects my happiness, more even than I should have anticipated, though I always knew that I must feel the separation at first as a severe wrench. But I did not apprehend, during her life, to what a degree she prevented me from feeling heart-solitude.” FeelsShouldFirstsHeartFeelingsMotherSolitudeDegreesShould HaveSeparationSevereWrenches Book:Memoir and Letters Source: Memoir and Letters
“All mothers love their own children as best they can, according to their temperament and circumstances, and all mothers should have done better, in their children's eyes, when the going gets tough for the children.” ShouldChildrenDoneEyeMotherCircumstancesToughShould HaveTemperamentMother LoveGoing Gets Tough Author:Fay Weldon
“claims about what's 'natural' have long been used to reinforce traditional gender roles and values. ... Even the notion that women should have children at all is based on the idea that a woman's inherent and most important role is that of mother. Shockingly, men's 'innate' roles are a lot more fun than the ones bestowed on women.” MenShouldChildrenLongImportantIdeasUsedMotherValuesFunNaturalRolesShould HaveClaimsNotionGenderTraditionalSexismInherentInnateGender Roles Author:Jessica Valenti
“My mother was a terrific force in my life. Wartime-generation woman, hadn't gone to university but should have done. Was very funny, very verbal, very clever, very witty.” ShouldDoneMotherForceGoneGenerationsShould HaveUniversityWittyCleverTerrificWartimeVery CleverVery Witty Author:Ian Hislop
“You never know in retrospect whether you did or didn't do exactly the right thing, stay-at-home mothers, gone-away mothers, all ofus worry whether we should have done something differently than we did.” KnowsShouldDoneHomeMotherWorryGoneShould HaveRight ThingRetrospectStay At HomeGone Away Author:Hillary Clinton