You can instill fear in your kids and get them to mind, but they won't function better in the world and your relationship will suffer greatly.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
The more we try to control our kids and create who they are and where they're going, the more that will fall apart. That's a dangerous thing. So you need to actually manage the fear and figure out who your kids are. Who do they want to be and how can you help shape that, but not control it.
There's a level of protection you need to give to your kids, and then sometimes you need to just let them figure out things on their own.
My kids are incredibly secure. More and more of their friends' parents are divorcing, but my kids have absolute confidence that we'll stay together forever. That goes a long, long way.
You have to support your children to have a healthy relationship.
I think the best thing that you can do with your kids is to talk to them like they're human beings, not like they're children and they don't know what they're doing.
Your children don't have to fear you to respect you.
Even though your kids will consistently do the exact opposite of what you're telling them to do, you have to keep loving them just as much.
You have to trust your kids. They have to experience life, and you just hope you've provided them a foundation for what's right and what isn't.
I love kids. But that's such a big commitment. And it seems long-term. It seems like a commitment that you have to stick with. And I just don't know if I can - it's too risky. Like, what if I don't like the kid?
Once your kids get older and get out of the house, it's not like it stops. They're on the phone with me every day; I'm intimately involved in their problems.
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