28 Quotes by Polly Berrien Berends

The gain is not the having of children; it is the discovery of love and how to be loving.

Parenthood always comes as a shock. Postpartum blues? Postpartum panic is more like it. We set out to have a baby; what we get is a total take-over of our lives.

A sense of worthiness is a child's most important need.

Most of us would do more for our babies than we have ever been willing to do for anyone, even ourselves.

My list of things I never pictured myself saying when I pictured myself as a parent has grown over the years.

We can see that the baby is as much an instrument of nourishment for us as we are for him.

The parent is the strongest statement that the child hears regarding what it means to be alive and real. More than what we say or do, the way we are expresses what we think it means to be alive. So the articulate parent is less a telling than a listening individual.

We do not have to get our children to learn; only to allow and encourage them in their learning. We do not have to dictate what they should learn; only to discern and respond to what it is that they are learning. Such responsiveness is at once the most educational and the most loving.

More than what we say or do, the way we are expresses what we think it means to be alive. So the articulate parent is less a telling than a listening individual.