LZ Granderson Quotes

Different parents have different standards for their children.

Oh wow, you know what's wrong with all these families on TV? All these kids say stuff no kid would say. Stuff grown-ups want them to say. Man, I'd make a really realistic family. Where kids get spankings. On TV parents say, 'Oh, you shouldn't do that ever again. Now you can have ice cream.' Forget it.

If you want to produce really horrible, obnoxious kids, say yes to them all the time.

The government cannot overcome bad parenting. What our leaders can do is publicly condemn irresponsible parental behavior in vivid terms.

People say California is the leading state on these type of issues. I've called my sister today and I said - I have a 3-year-old nephew - "Do you spank?"And she says, "If it's necessary I will. But that's my decision. I'm the mother. Not you."

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

My kids get everything they want and are raised well.

In my experience, there are plenty of bad middle-class parents: those who put their own lives and careers before those of their children and make precious little time available for their offspring, preferring instead to hire in childcare and shower them with the latest and most expensive gadgets.

Most children turn out badly because they have the wrong parental image. This doesn't mean their parents are criminal. It means they are boring and cruel.

The problems of rebellious youth can be traced to homes where the mother disobeyed the father or showed lack of respect for his authority.

We need to stop the erosion of parental authority.

One of the most difficult parental challenges is to appropriately discipline children. Child rearing is so individualistic. Every child is different and unique. What works with one may not work with another.

I don't think I'd be a very good parent. I'd be too honest.

We're living in a time when parenting is not at all mirroring the way I was parented. For me, I just followed my parents around on their errands; when they were busy on the phone, I was quiet. It's a different kettle of fish these days: They run the house, and you listen to their music, and you go to their appointments.

I don't think you should reprimand your child for everything you're feeling because for them it's as serious as when something happens in our day and we get upset about it.

Children aren't happy with nothing to ignore, and that's what parents were created for.

I've never been a believer in the physical punishment of children. I don't think it is necessary.

If a child goes the wrong way, it is not the child who is to be blamed; it is the parents who are responsible.

Before you beat a child, be sure yourself are not the cause of the offense.

Those children who have been most chastised seldom make the best men.

Sadly, there is no law against being an idiotic parent.

When a child is out of control, he or she needs you, the parent, to make them feel safe.

I've worked with kids that are just horrendous, and it's mostly because of their parents.

Look at the laws: you can't spank a kid without getting in trouble. That kept me in line!

Responsibility for the proper conduct of children was not confined to their parents only. When they misbehaved, they misbehaved against the community. And a senior member of the community was expected to do something about it.