Thoughtful quotes about parenting and motherhood.

Words of Wisdom

"I found out, almost after it was too late, that my children were not born to learn from my experiences; they were born to learn from their own…" (Richard Bode)

"It is a wise father that knows his own child." (Shakespeare)

"Nobody knows a mother like her daughter." (Nancy Friday)

"The mother’s lap is the child’s first classroom" (old proverb)

"There is nothing in human nature more resonant with charges than the flow of energy between two biologically alike bodies, one of which has lain in amniotic bliss inside the other, one of which has labored to give birth to the other. The Materials are here for the deepest mutuality and the most painful estrangement." (Adrienne Rich)

"Dear son, So often parents think of their children as failing investments whose cost in time and money outweighs the return. Whenever I find myself thinking of you in that way, I picture God looking at me. (Hugh Prather)

"…our parents always fail us massively and decisively. Why is this so? Because they are limited human beings; and for the same reason we, too, will fail our children. (Larry Jaffee)

" …a mother must not feel obligated to give up herself. Not unless she wants to raise a motherless child." (Lisa Cronin Wohl)

"There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots; the other, wings." (Hodding Carter)

"Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them." (James Baldwin)

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