Once we begin to appreciate that the apparent destructiveness of the toddler in taking apart a flower or knocking down sand castles is in fact a constructive effort to understand unity, we are able to revise our view of the… — Polly Berrien Berends Copy Share Image
Especially with our first child, we tend to take too much responsibility--both credit and blame--for everything. The more we wantto be good parents, the… — Polly Berrien Berends Copy Share Image
The trouble with most problem-solving books for parents is that they start with the idea that the child has a problem. Then they try… — Polly Berrien Berends Copy Share Image
Parenthood always comes as a shock. Postpartum blues? Postpartum panic is more like it. We set out to have a baby; what we get… — Polly Berrien Berends Copy Share Image
The parent is the strongest statement that the child hears regarding what it means to be alive and real. More than what we say… — Polly Berrien Berends Copy Share Image
Suddenly we have a baby who poops and cries, and we are trying to calm, clean up, and pin things together all at once.… — Polly Berrien Berends Copy Share Image
“The child does not begin to fall until she becomes seriously interested in walking, until she actually begins learning. Falling is thus more an… — Polly Berrien Berends Copy Share Image
The secret is to learn to sit at the feet of your own life and be taught by it. — Polly Berrien Berends Copy Share Image
Awareness of having better things to do with their lives is the secret to immunizing our children against false values--whether presented on television or… — Polly Berrien Berends Copy Share Image
Most of us would do more for our babies than we have ever been willing to do for anyone, even ourselves. — Polly Berrien Berends Copy Share Image
“If your children see that you are seeking, they will seek—the finding part is up to God.” — Polly Berrien Berends Copy Share Image
My list of things I never pictured myself saying when I pictured myself as a parent has grown over the years. — Polly Berrien Berends Copy Share Image
