Selected parents quotes

1. The first half of our lives are ruined by our parents and the second half by our children.

2. Don't hold your parents up to contempt. After all, you are their son, and it is just possible that you may take after them.

3. We write not only for children but also for their parents. They, too, are serious children.

4. My father was often angry when I was most like him.

5. Parents rarely let go of their children, so children let go of them. They move on. They move away. The moments that used to define them - a mother's approval, a father's nod - are covered by moments of their own accomplishments. It is not until much later, as the skin sags and the heart weakens, that children understand; their stories, and all their accomplishments, sit atop the stories of their mothers and fathers, stones upon stones, beneath the waters of their lives.

6. You know, when you have a father who's pretty well known but you don't see him, the last thing you want to do is start talking about him all the time to people.

7. Oh, when a mother meets on high The babe she lost in infancy, Hath she not then for pains and fears, The day of woe, the watchful night, For all her sorrow, all her tears, An over-payment of delight?

8. When I was kidnapped, my parents snapped into action. They rented out my room.

9. Parents should leave books lying around marked 'forbidden' if they want their children to read.

10. The family uses people, not for what they are, nor for what they are intended to be, but for what it wants them for - its own uses. It thinks of them not as what God has made them, but as the something which it has arranged that they shall be.

11. If parents would only realize how they bore their children!

12. In the matter of the maintenance and rearing of children the Anarchists would neither institute the communistic nursery which the State Socialists favor nor keep the communistic school system which now prevails. The nurse and the teacher, like the doctor and the preacher, must be selected voluntarily, and their services must be paid for by those who patronize them. Parental rights must not be taken away, and parental responsibilities must not be foisted upon others.

13. [To beginning readers (ages 4 to 8) at a reading of 'Noelle's Treasure Tale']: If you discover a word in my book that you don't understand, ask your parents so they can look it up in the dictionary for you.

14. We're like actors, turned loose in this world to wander in search of a phantom, endlessly searching for a half-formed shadow of our lost reality. When others demand that we become the people they want us to be, they force us to destroy the person we really are. It's a subtle kind of murder. The most loving parents and relatives commit this murder with smiles on their faces.

15. They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had And add some extra, just for you.

16. Oh my son's my son till he gets a wife, But my daughter's my daughter all her life.

17. It is from the traditional family that we absorb those universal ideals and principles which are the teaching of Jesus, the bedrock of our religious faith. We are taught the difference between right and wrong, and about the law, just punishment and discipline. We are taught to obey our parents, as Jesus did, and about the sanctity of truth and life itself. We are warned against lying, cheating and stealing. We learn that we must respect the person and property of others, care for each other, live and work together in cooperation, show loyalty, patience, kindness and share what we have. The family teaches us about the importance of knowledge, education, hard work and effort. It teaches us about enjoying ourselves, having fun, keeping fit and healthy.

18. When your mother has grown older, When her dear, faithful eyes No longer see life as they once did, When her feet, grown tired, No longer want to carry her as she walks, Then lend her your arm in support, escort her with happy pleasure- the hour will come when, weeping, you must accompany her on her final walk. And if she asks you something, then give her an answer. And if she asks again, then speak! And if she asks yet again, respond to her, not impatiently, but with gentle calm. And if she cannot understand you properly, explain all to her happily. The hour will come, the bitter hour, when her mouth asks for nothing more.

19. My parents shared not only an improbable love, they shared an abiding faith in the possibilities of this nation. They would give me an African name, Barack, or blessed, believing that in a tolerant America your name is no barrier to success. They imagined me going to the best schools in the land, even though they weren't rich, because in a generous America you don't have to be rich to achieve your potential.

20. 'Teddy - I suppose Mummy and Daddy are real, aren't they?' Teddy said, 'You ask such silly questions, David. Nobody knows what 'real' really means. Let's go indoors.' 'First I'm going to have another rose!' Plucking a bright pink flower, he carried it with him into the house. It could lie on the pillow as he went to sleep. Its beauty and softness reminded him of Mummy.

21. We were the kids that made America famous. The kind of kids that long since drove our parents to dispair. We were lazy long hairs dropping out, lost confused, and copping out. Convinced our futures were in doubt and trying not to care.

22. Une veuve a deux taches dont les obligations se contredisent: elle est mere et doit exercer la puissance paternelle.

23. My mother didn't breast-feed me. She said she liked me as a friend.

24. When I was a kid, I asked my Mother for a Bubble Bath, so she brought the water to a boil!

25. The similarities between me and my father are completely different.

26. {A man came to the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and said: 'O Messenger of God! Who among the people is the most worthy of my good companionship?' The Prophet said: { Your mother. } The man said: 'Then who?' The Prophet said: { Then your mother. } The man further asked: 'Then who?' The Prophet said: { Then your mother. } The man asked again: 'Then who?' The Prophet said: { Then your father. }

27. 'I've collected a lot of balls for him and he loves playing with them. Aryan also loves dancing to my songs. We have pillow fights and love jumping on the bed. We quite demented when we are together.' - Shahrukh

28. When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.

29. Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands.

30. 'I wish my parents took good care of their grow-op.'

31. Siempre has sido lista. Has visto lo malo de las gentes a cien leguas... Pero los hijos son los hijos. Ahora estas ciega.

32. I want to say to the young people, Honor thy father and thy mother. Your days will be longer and more fruitful.

33. I was 15, I think, [when my parents divorced]. It had been coming for quite a long time. I'm surprised they lasted that long, bless their hearts. I think they tried to keep it together for the kids, and then they couldn't anymore. (2004)

34. I wish either my father or my mother, or indeed both of them, as they were in duty both equally bound to it, had minded what they were about when they begot me.

35. Oh, why will parents always appear at the wrong time? Some extraordinary mistake in nature, I suppose.

36. My mother said to me, 'Get a proper job. Quit this f--king around.' She still thinks it's a crazy f--king thing I'm doing.

37. A Jewish man with parents alive is a fifteen-year-old boy, and will remain a fifteen-year-old boy till they die.

38. When asked, 'Should I tell my mother I'm gay?' I answer, 'Never tell your mother anything.'