And the secret garden bloomed and bloomed and every morning revealed new miracles.
Frances Hodgson BurnettRead
Two worst things as can happen to a child is never to have his own way - or always to have it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A child needs to find balance between autonomy and guidance to grow successfully.
This quote emphasizes the importance of moderation in parenting, suggesting that neither extreme of always granting a child their wishes nor completely denying them any autonomy is beneficial. It highlights the idea that children require the freedom to make choices as well as the necessary boundaries to learn important life lessons, fostering both independence and responsibility.
Themes
ParentingBalanceChildrenAutonomyGuidance
In practice
Example use cases
In a parenting workshop discussing how to raise resilient children, this quote could be shared to demonstrate the importance of balance.
More from Frances Hodgson Burnett
All quotes βIt's so different to be a sparrow. But nobody asked this rat if he wanted to be a rat when he was made. Nobody said, 'Wouldn't you rather be a sparrow?
Frances Hodgson BurnettRead
As long as you have a garden you have a future and as long as you have a future you are alive.
Frances Hodgson BurnettRead
If nature has made you for a giver, your hands are born open, and so is your heart; and though there may be times when your hands are empty, your heart is always full, and you can give things out of that--warm things, kind things, sweet things--help and comfort and laughter--and sometimes gay, kind laughter is the best help of all.
Frances Hodgson BurnettRead
Somehow, something always happens just before things get to the very worst. It is as if Magic did it. If I could only just remember that always. The worse thing never quite comes.
Frances Hodgson BurnettRead
At that moment a very good thing was happening to her. Four good things had happened to her, in fact, since she came to Misselthwaite Manor. She had felt as if she had understood a robin and that he had understood her; she had run in the wind until her blood had grown warm; she had been healthily hungry for the first time in her life; and she had found out what it was to be sorry for someone.
Frances Hodgson BurnettRead
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The real meditative practice is to open up to the full range of what happens in life. And parenting is a fantastic arena for doing that kind of spiritual training. It's as much a potential door into enlightenment as anything else.
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You don't want to be that parent - the one who dresses his kid in a cloth sack when all the other kids are in Armani cloth sacks - especially in a time like ours, when materialism is not only rampant and ascendant but is fast becoming the only game in town.
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The real questions for parents should be: "Are you engaged? Are you paying attention?" If so, plan to make lots of mistakes and bad decisions. Imperfect parenting moments turn into gifts as our children watch us try to figure out what went wrong and how we can do better next time. The mandate is not to be perfect and raise happy children. Perfection doesn't exist, and I've found what makes children happy doesn't always prepare them to be courageous, engaged adults.
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Another parent's different approach raises the possibility that you've made a mistake with your child. We simply can't tolerate that because we fear that any mistake, no matter how minor, could have devastating consequences. So we proclaim the superiority of our own choices. We've lost sight of the fact that people have preferences.
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Oh, what a tangled web do parents weave, when they think that their children are naive.
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In the same way that I cannot be perfect and need grace for my mistakes, I also need to give my kids grace. I am constantly learning to be patient with them, understanding that they won't do everything right all the time, while still holding them to a high standard, as their heavenly father does.
Benjamin WatsonRead