Melissa Mathison Quotes

My actions and the things I say and do, I wonder if they have an effect on my daughter and the way she's going to be as a person. I just want her to be a good person.

As a parent, you have to figure out how to shape your kid's character. You want to have human beings who learn about good character. You have to be able to see your child with clarity, see the good side and the bad side of them, and work on the bad side and make them better so they fulfill their potential.

Every day, at home, I have the astonishing and humbling opportunity - together with my wife Sophie - to nurture empathy, compassion, self-love, and a keen sense of justice in our three kids.

I will feel like a success if I raise my children to be kind and happy people.

Loving a child doesn't mean giving in to all his whims; to love him is to bring out the best in him, to teach him to love what is difficult.

I think my uncle was probably the biggest influence in my life. We grew up in the same house, and he was just a really great, hard-working, honest, ethical person.

My concern is how we learn to be genuine human beings.

I think I started learning lessons about being a good person long before I ever knew what basketball was. And that starts in the home, it starts with the parental influence.

I hope that whenever my daughter has a negative experience, I'm there to talk about it and remind her how we feel when it's done to her so that she doesn't do it to others.

When I was young and getting bullied at school and really not feeling like I would amount to much and staying isolated, my mom used to say to me a lot about how you treat people and always having dignity and respect.

In a drama of the highest order there is little food for censure or hatred; it teaches rather self-knowledge and self-respect.

Strength of character may be learned at work, but beauty of character is learned at home.

A noble person attracts noble people, and knows how to hold on to them.

We have to teach empathy as we do literacy.

Shaming people isn't productive. That makes you feel bad about yourself.

I am more interested in teaching my children empathy than subscribing to our 'me' culture and obsessing about 'how do I feel' all the time.

At a young age, I learned from my grandmother that I should respect all people. Her lessons were defining moments in my life and determined the type of leader that I would become.

Model the qualities that you want your children to show to each other.

It is necessary to be concerned about the importance of educating a really beautiful human spirit.

Education commences at the mother's knee, and every word spoken within hearsay of little children tends toward the formation of character.

Consciously be sensitive to others, and try to elevate their level of consciousness. Don't do this by being preachy and telling them that they 'should' do this or that. Do it by raising your own level of energy and recognizing what's best in others.

The next time you feel unworthy, inadequate or inferior, remember that these experiences have nothing to do with humbleness, any more than lowering yourself to connect with another individual has to do with humbleness. There are no lower or higher individuals in the perception of a humble person. There are only souls. There is only love.

My dad made a huge impact on me in terms of right and wrong.

Live a life of grace. You'll be a better person for it, and so will your children.

My mother and my father were very nurturing and wonderful examples of how to live your life.