Bruno Bettelheim Quotes

18 quotes in 296 categories

• Punishment may make us obey the orders we are given, but at best it will only teach an obedience to authority, not a self-control which…
• Not only is our love for our children sometimes tinged with annoyance, discouragement, and disappointment, the same is true for the love our children feel…
• Raising children is a creative endeavor, an art rather than a science.
• The child intuitively comprehends that although these stories are unreal, they are not untrue ...
• The ability to read becomes devalued when what one has learned to read adds nothing of importance to one's life.
• The delight we experience when we allow ourselves to respond to a fairy tale, the enchantment we feel, comes not from the psychological meaning of…
• The question for the child is not Do I want to be good? but Whom do I want to be like?
• What cannot be talked about cannot be put to rest. And if it is not, the wounds will fester from generation to generation.
• The fear of failure is so great, it is no wonder that the desire to do right by one's children has led to a whole…
• Play reaches the habits most needed for intellectual growth.
• Creativity stands at the center of all education.
• Play permits the child to resolve in symbolic form unsolved problems of the past and to cope directly or symbolically with present concerns. It is…
• For those who immerse themselves in what the fairy tale has to communicate, it becomes a deep, quiet pool which at first seems to reflect…
• You can't teach children to be good. The best you can do for your child is to live a good life yourself. What a parent…
• The unrealistic nature of these tales (which narrowminded rationalists object to) is an important device, because it makes obvious that the fairy tales’ concern is…
• Since there are thousands of fairy tales, one may safely guess that there are probably equal numbers where the courage and determination of females rescue…
• If we hope to live not just from moment to moment, but in true consciousness of our existence, then our greatest need and most difficult…

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