Quotes About Raising Children

Quotes about raising children from throughout Christian History.

pond in Selmer, TN

Letter of Barnabas, A.D. 80 - 130

You shall not withdraw your hand from your son or from your daughter, but from their infancy you shall teach them the fear of the Lord. (ch. 19)

Athenagoras, A.D. 177

We say that those women who use drugs to bring on an abortion commit murder and will have to give an account to God for the abortion. (A Plea for the Christians 35)

Irenaeus, A.D. 183 - 186

Who are they that have been saved and received the inheritance? Those, doubtless, who believe God and who have continued in his love, as did Caleb, son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, son of Nun, and innocent children, who have had no sense of evil. (Against Heresies IV:28:3)

Malcolm Gladwell, 2000

Judith Harris has convincingly argued that peer influence and community influence are more important than family influence in determining how children turn out. Studies of juvenile delinquency and high school drop-out rates … demonstrate that a child is better off in a good neighborhood and a troubled family than he or she is in a troubled neighborhood and a good family. (The Tipping Point, ch. 4)

Jill Rigby, 2006

Today, it's the rare child who says:
   "Please."
   "May I help you?" …
   "Thank you."
   "I'm sorry."
   In the quest for self-esteem, such courtesies have become uncommon, at least for the members of the new royalty. Little princes and princesses are not expected to humble themselves before others by extending common courtesies. (Raising Respectful Children in a Disrespectful World, p. 10)

Michael Pearl, 2007

When parents have a transformation within, good parenting comes naturally, wihout all the struggle and deliberation. Pure souls living pure lives don't need a great deal of knowledge about child training to raise good kids. Good children grow out of good parental soil. (Jumping Ship, p. 36)

United Synogogue of Conservative Judaism, 2010

The following quote is tip #7 of 10 tips given on the referenced page. Please follow the link. As a parent of six children who's been paying attention to the results of child raising for 30 years, I highly recommend the attitude of their 10 tips. (You can't raise children by tips; you have to have your overall attitude affected.)

"How-to" books on parenting by experts can help to some extent, but parenting is too important a responsibility to hand over to experts. (Raising Jewish Children: 10 Things to Keep in Mind, accessed Aug. 31, 2011)