You have to love your children unselfishly. That is hard. But it is the only way.

You have to love your children unselfishly. That is hard. But it is the only way.

It's never too late to have a happy childhood.

It's never too late to have a happy childhood.

Children should be like waffles--you should be able to throw the first one away.

Children should be like waffles--you should be able to throw the first one away.

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.

To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child.

To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child.

Young people are fitter to invent than to judge; fitter for execution than for counsel; and more fit for new read more

Young people are fitter to invent than to judge; fitter for execution than for counsel; and more fit for new projects than for settled business.

Boys will be boys. And even that wouldn't matter if only we could prevent girls from being girls.

Boys will be boys. And even that wouldn't matter if only we could prevent girls from being girls.

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.

Give me a child for the first seven years, and you may do what you like with him afterwards.

Give me a child for the first seven years, and you may do what you like with him afterwards.