--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No matter how much time you spend reading…" description: "\"No matter how much time you spend reading books or following your intuition, you're gonna screw it up. Fifty times. You can't do parenting right.\" — Al..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/alan-arkin-5379_book_no-matter-how-much-time-you-spend-readin_2731280.png" --- # No matter how much time you spend reading books or… ![“No matter how much time you spend reading books or following your intuition, you're gonna screw it up. Fifty times. You can't do parenting right.” quote by Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/alan-arkin-5379_book_no-matter-how-much-time-you-spend-readin_2731280.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/alan-arkin-5379_book_no-matter-how-much-time-you-spend-readin_2731280.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/alan-arkin-5379_book_no-matter-how-much-time-you-spend-readin_2731280.png) > “No matter how much time you spend reading books or following your intuition, you're gonna screw it up. Fifty times. You can't do parenting right.” [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even with effort and intuition, mistakes happen; parenting is especially prone to error. **In simple terms:** Parenting is messy and inevitable. Key Takeaway Accept imperfection in parenting. Themes parenting mistakes humor Mood lighthearted realistic Type parenting humorous When to use this quote - family life - childrearing - personal development Key Concepts learning from errors growth mindset Questions to Reflect On - What can parents do after a mistake? - How to balance intuition with guidance? A Different Perspective No parent can avoid errors; perfection is unrealistic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) [Fifty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fifty/) [Following](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/following/) [Following Intuition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/following-intuition-391603/) [Intuition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intuition/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Parenting Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting-right-591894/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-books/) [Screws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/screws/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Times Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/times-parenting-2957427/) ## Related quotes > [“In terms of teaching our children to dare greatly in the “never enough” culture, the question isn’t so much “Are you parenting the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/in-terms-of-teaching-our-children-to-dare-greatly-in-the-never-enough/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [I've been following my intuition and what moves me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-lelio/i-ve-been-following-my-intuition-and-what-moves-me/) [Sebastian Lelio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-lelio/) > [“Who we are and how we engage with the world are much stronger predictors of how our children will do than what we know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/who-we-are-and-how-we-engage-with-the-world-are-much-stronger-2/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [The question isn't so much, Are you parenting the right way? as it is: Are you the adult you want your child to grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/the-question-isn-t-so-much-are-you-parenting-the-right-way-as-it-is/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [Practice following your intuition in everyday things, trusting your gut feelings moment by moment and acting on them as best you can. As you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakti-gawain/practice-following-your-intuition-in-everyday-things-trusting-your/) [Shakti Gawain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakti-gawain/) > [The most successful people are often very intuitive. Consciously or unconsciously, they follow their gut feelings. Following intuition puts us in the flow -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakti-gawain/the-most-successful-people-are-often-very-intuitive-consciously-or/) [Shakti Gawain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakti-gawain/) > [I own a hundred and fifty books, but I have no bookcase. Nobody will lend me a bookcase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henny-youngman/i-own-a-hundred-and-fifty-books-but-i-have-no-bookcase-nobody-will/) [Henny Youngman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henny-youngman/) > [My problem is that while other people are reading fifty books I'm reading one book fifty times. I only stop when at the bottom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/my-problem-is-that-while-other-people-are-reading-fifty-books-i-m/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [You could buy my book in a paperback edition for a dollar, and in hard covers for $3.50. And for fifty cents extra, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/you-could-buy-my-book-in-a-paperback-edition-for-a-dollar-and-in-hard/) [Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/) > [I have, like, 12 screws in my hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hunt/i-have-like-12-screws-in-my-hand/) [Mark Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hunt/) > [I have a friend who is a juggler. 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If they got nothing to hang on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-higson/you-got-to-harden-yourself-make-like-a-shell-around-you-but-not/) [Charlie Higson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-higson/) > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) ## More by Alan Arkin > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [If I'm going to make a fake movie, it's going to be a fake hit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/if-i-m-going-to-make-a-fake-movie-it-s-going-to-be-a-fake-hit/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I don't mind watching plays once in a while, but as long as I don't have to be in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-mind-watching-plays-once-in-a-while-but-as-long-as-i-don-t/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I had a hard time treating my field as if it's horse racing, putting actors in competition against each other. 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To isolate things is not the way the universe works - winning best actor is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/every-physicist-knows-that-things-connect-with-each-other-to-isolate/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I don't know why we have to put things in boxes of superlatives. That isolates them. Life is fluid, and the minute you start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-know-why-we-have-to-put-things-in-boxes-of-superlatives-that/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [People think that the people in Hollywood have some master plan. They just make the movies that people go to see. I think it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/people-think-that-the-people-in-hollywood-have-some-master-plan-they/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I'm very old. I haven't got time to be charming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-m-very-old-i-haven-t-got-time-to-be-charming/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I'm an actor. My life as an actor depends on who sends me what. I'm just taking the best stuff that I can find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-m-an-actor-my-life-as-an-actor-depends-on-who-sends-me-what-i-m/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [Education does not mean jamming information into somebody's head. Rather, it's that ancient idea that all knowledge is within us; to teach is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/education-does-not-mean-jamming-information-into-somebody-s-head/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) [Explore all 101 Alan Arkin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. 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