Barbara Coloroso Quotes

To me, Slow parenting is about bringing balance into the home. Children need to strive and struggle and stretch themselves, but that does not mean childhood should be a race. Slow parents give their children plenty of time and space to explore the world on their own terms.

I embrace who I am. I just want my child to do the same thing.

I know that I can do myself better than anybody else can.

I actually think leaving your children alone to fantasize, to write, to make projects on their own is good for them. Breathing down their necks is a form of control. Children should have their own space.

Children need parents who will let them grow up to be themselves, but parents often have personal agendas they try to impose on their children.

...the more risks you allow children to take, the better they learn to take care of themselves. If you never let them take any risks, then I believe they become very prone to injury. Boys should be allowed to climb tall trees and walk along the tops of high walls and dive into the sea from high rocks... The same with girls. I like the type of child who takes risks. Better by far than the one who never does so.

Today I am amazed at the things our children have done and their wide range of interests. They are all living their lives and not the ones I would have planned for them. But I have learned that their lives are theirs, not mine, and in living their own lives they have given me experiences and an education I would never have had if I'd been fool enough to make them do what I thought they should do.

The children who are appreciated for what they are, even if they are homely, or clumsy, or slow, will grow up with confidence in themselves and happy. They will have a spirit that will make the best of all the capacities that they do have and of all the opportunities that come their way.

Allow children to be happy in their own way, for what better way will they find?

The best thing I ever did in my life was to ask, 'Do I like everybody?' And the answer was, 'No.' So why should everybody like me? If people are against me, so what? I'm against them too.

Bending over backwards does not bring you the love and attention you crave, but having your own life, your own goals and a backbone will.

I'm not trying to keep anybody happy.

Never stand begging for that which you have the power to earn.

I think I'm a living embodiment of, 'Don't try to push me around or squash me,' whether its how I talk to a record label or in my relationships.

For me, I want my kids to find their way. If they're interested in something, I want them to try it out.

I make no apologies for loving the finer things in life or the men I choose to date. I don't feel bad about the person I am. Now, I do have an edge, rawness and realness, and I can tell you I'm going to keep that.

My mum was no pushy parent. She would drop me off for auditions when I was in my teens at the Lyric Theatre, then give me my bus fare and say she would see me later at home. She wasn't hanging around in the wings geeing me on. I had to do it on my own; it was up to me.

I have never been insecure, ever, about how I look, about what I want to do with myself. My mum told me to only ever do things for myself, not for others.

I don't need anyone to rectify my existence. The most profound relationship we will ever have is the one with ourselves.

You cannot belong to anyone else, until you belong to yourself.

My primary lesson, however, was that I'm a solo writer, happiest when I'm making all the executive decisions. I've always been willing to rise or fall on my own merits.

I care not so much what I am to others as what I am to myself. I will be rich by myself, and not by borrowing.

If you raise your children to feel that they can accomplish any goal or task they decide upon, you will have succeeded as a parent and you will have given your children the greatest of all blessings.

My father taught me you have to believe in yourself and run on your own track.

In America we tell our parents to bring their child home and put him or her in a crib; as they get older, children sleep in they own room not in Mom and Dad's room. What are we training them for? It's independence, because that's what being empowered is all about.