Mignon McLaughlin Quotes

I read somewhere that your voice towards your children becomes their inner monologue. That was so interesting to me, and I think that pertains to 'Better Things' as well.

When your little child tells a lie, do not rush at him as though the world were about to go into bankruptcy. Be honest with him. A tyrant father will have liars for his children; do you know that? A lie is born of tyranny upon the one hand and weakness upon the other, and when you rush at a poor little boy with a club in your hand, of course he lies.

I'm a believer in the parent first, friend second philosophy, and trying to find that balance.

You can instill fear in your kids and get them to mind, but they won't function better in the world and your relationship will suffer greatly.

And Grandmother Hall really imagines that she can raise Eleanor and her two brothers differently than these children were raised. And if she is very strict and everything is very regimented and ordered and disciplined, that they will become the perfect children who her own children did not become.

For me, as much about being a parent as it is about being a child.

Parents who indulge themselves 'in moderation' may have children who indulge themselves to excess.

In spite of what youngsters think, parents do not get a sneaky thrill out of punishing their children.

We hear a great deal about the rudeness of the rising generation. I am an oldster myself and might be expected to take the oldsters' side, but in fact I have been far more impressed by the bad manners of parents to children than by those of children to parents.

If parents would only realize how they bore their children.

Re raising kids: Love, without discipline, isn't.

I try to listen to my children. I try to change with my children.

I think having children in general is always very helpful for acting.

The best mother is the mother who adapts, and the best children are the children who adapt as well.

My children did not go through a stage of being rude to their parents. I'm sorry if that sounds incredible.

My parents never really lecture me.

A kid never listens to what his parents tell him to do. The parents actually act as an example of what their kids themselves do.

The biggest lesson I've learned from my children is to look in the mirror at myself, not at them. I've realized that everything I've done has had an impact on them. We have to understand that they are like little paparazzi. They take our picture when we don't want them to and then they show it to us in their behavior.

Kids teach you a lot of patience.

It's important for a parent to learn to take delight in a child whose behavior might seem mystifying. In the case of an extroverted parent with an introverted child, it can be learning to see the inner riches of your child that may not always be expressed on the surface - but are there.

The whole concept of 'grounding' children is utterly stupid - they just go off and rebel and don't like you. When my kids eventually come along, I don't want them to not like me.

My parenting style is probably like that of my parents, because you do how you learn. My mother was very nurturing and loving, but very stern. She was a disciplinary. My dad was also very loving.

The best thing I can recommend is to listen to your child. I really mean that.

As a parent I fail because my son does not take me seriously.

I told my children, 'I don't like children.'