The child is father of the man.

The child is father of the man.

The soul is healed by being with children.

The soul is healed by being with children.

Our children's children will hear a good story.

Our children's children will hear a good story.

The only moral lesson which is suited for a child, the most important lesson for every time of life, is read more

The only moral lesson which is suited for a child, the most important lesson for every time of life, is this: "Never hurt anybody.".

All my life through, the new sights of Nature made me rejoice like a child.

All my life through, the new sights of Nature made me rejoice like a child.

They mustn't know my despair, I can't let them see the wounds which they have caused, I couldn't bear their read more

They mustn't know my despair, I can't let them see the wounds which they have caused, I couldn't bear their sympathy and their kind-hearted jokes, it would only make me want to scream all the more. If I talk, everyone thinks I'm showing off; when I'm silent they think I'm ridiculous; rude if I answer, sly if I get a good idea, lazy if I'm tired, selfish if I eat a mouthful more than I should, stupid, cowardly, crafty, etc. etc.

A child is a curly, dimpled lunatic.

A child is a curly, dimpled lunatic.

All lovely things will have an ending, All lovely things will fade and die; And youth, that's now so bravely read more

All lovely things will have an ending, All lovely things will fade and die; And youth, that's now so bravely spending, Will beg a penny by and by.

It might sound a paradoxical thing to say --for surely never has a generation of children occupied more sheer hours read more

It might sound a paradoxical thing to say --for surely never has a generation of children occupied more sheer hours of parental time --but the truth is that we neglected you. We allowed you a charade of trivial freedoms in order to avoid making those impositions on you that are in the end both the training ground and proving ground for true independence. We pronounced you strong when you were still weak in order to avoid the struggles with you that would have fed your true strength. We proclaimed you sound when you were foolish in order to avoid taking part in the long, slow, slogging effort that is the only route to genuine maturity of mind and feeling. Thus, it was no small anomaly of your growing up that while you were the most indulged generation, you were also in many ways the most abandoned to your own meager devices by those into whose safe-keeping you had been given.