Some parents let their kids sleep at other people's houses, where they drink alcohol, watch TV for hours and God knows what else. But if you say you have to get all A's and practice the violin for two hours, then they consider that abusive. That upsets me.
Children are most impressed with the importance of a moment when they witness a parent breaking the parents' own rule.
Parents forgive their children least readily for the faults they themselves instilled in them.
I swore that I wouldn't be one of those parents who leaves a Bugaboo pram parked in the communal entry hall. Well guess what, ours is there right now.
Why are people so afraid of giving their kids necessary information that might prevent an unwanted pregnancy or disease? But they're not worried about the violent nature of video games or movies or books.
We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are. If we have sons, we don't mind knowing about our sons' girlfriends, but our daughters' boyfriends? God forbid. But of course when the time is right, we expect those girls to bring back the perfect man to be their husband.
The child gets two confusing messages when a parent tells him which is the right fork to use, and then proceeds to use the wrong one. So does the child who listens to parents bicker and fuss, yet is told to be nice to his brothers and sisters.
We fail our children if we say, 'Don't do as I do, but do as I say'.
The funniest is the moms who get really angry with me, and they bring their kid who's dressed like Deadpool, and he's 9 years old, and they're scolding me that their little kid can't enjoy Deadpool.
I've retroactively made all that wasted time rotting my brain into research. It makes me a hypocrite when I try to tell my own daughter, "I don't know, I think we've played a little too much Mario."
Somewhere it is written that parents who are critical of other people's children and publicly admit they can do better are asking for it.
If you punish him for what he sees you practise yourself, he... will be apt to interpret it the peevishness and arbitrary imperiousness of a father, who, without any ground for it, would deny his son the liberty and pleasure he takes himself.
