B. F. Skinner Quotes

Any child can be developed, it depends on how you do it.

Give me a child for the first 7 years, and you may do what you like with him afterwards.

The prospect of being a father made me ask myself a question. How do you know what kind of adult your child will turn out to be? And how much can you control that?

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

Teachers shape so much of what a kid's upbringing can be.

Parents can shape a child, but a great teacher can, too.

It is sometimes easier to head an institute for the study of child guidance than it is to turn one brat into a decent human being.

The training of children is a profession, where we must know how to waste time in order to save it.

To know that everything we say and do to this new little human being may have a profound effect on him or her is a daunting obligation.

Attitudes about the rearing and education of children vary between two extremes. One, which might be labeled “authoritarian” or “coercive,” rests on an assumption that children are by nature irresponsible and lazy, and will do their schoolwork only if they are penalized for a poor performance. The opposite view might be labeled “progressive” or “democratic.” It rests on the assumption that children who are brought up with love, trust, and clear but kind leadership are eager to grow up and be like their parents, eager to explore, learn, master skills, and take on responsibility; they need guidance but not sternness or punishment.

Kids are important.

Working with a kid is just so interesting to see.

You want to do everything you can so your child has every tool to succeed.

If you know that you've given the right upbringing and knowledge to your children, you have already won half the battle.

People often believe that character causes action, but when it comes to producing moral children, we need to remember that action also shapes character.

Parenting is a learning process.

Lot of things depend on the up bringing of a child.

A child rightly trained may be a world-wide blessing, with an influence reaching onward to eternal years. But a neglected or misdirected directed child may live to blight and blast mankind, and leave influences of evil which shall roll on in increasing volume till they plunge into the gulf of eternal perdition.

I think a common misperception about attuning and tending to a child's needs so constantly is that they don't grow in their independence, but I think that the opposite is true.

Children need models rather than critics.

The most influential of all educational factors is the conversation in a child's home.

America's future will be determined by the home and the school. The child becomes largely what he is taught; hence we must watch what we teach, and how we live.

Every child grows; everything depends on the teacher.

The thing with children is they're a bit like baking a fruitcake: you throw all the ingredients in but you never know how they're going to turn out.

I think parents today are looking for meaningful things for their kid. It's about feeding them something with meaning.