--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One year, I'd completely lost my bearings…" description: "\"One year, I'd completely lost my bearings trying to follow potty training instruction from a psychiatric expert. I was stuck on step on, which stated w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fd/mary-blakely-18888_atoms_one-year-i-d-completely-lost-my-bearings_2720270.jpg" --- # One year, I'd completely lost my bearings trying to follow… ![“One year, I'd completely lost my bearings trying to follow potty training instruction from a psychiatric expert. I was stuck on step on, which stated without an atom of irony: "Before you begin, remove all stubbornness from the child." . . . I knew it only could have been written by someone whose…” quote by Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fd/mary-blakely-18888_atoms_one-year-i-d-completely-lost-my-bearings_2720270.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fd/mary-blakely-18888_atoms_one-year-i-d-completely-lost-my-bearings_2720270.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6fd/mary-blakely-18888_atoms_one-year-i-d-completely-lost-my-bearings_2720270.jpg) > “One year, I'd completely lost my bearings trying to follow potty training instruction from a psychiatric expert. I was stuck on step on, which stated without an atom of irony: "Before you begin, remove all stubbornness from the child." . . . I knew it only could have been written by someone whose suit coat was still spotless at the end of the day, not someone who had any hands-on experience with an actual two-year-old.” [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author satirically critiques a rigid, theory‑driven approach to child‑rearing that ignores practical realities and the child's individuality. **In simple terms:** Rigid rules ignore real children. Key Takeaway Balance expert advice with empathy and flexibility. Themes parenting education expertise practicality humor Mood frustrated humorous critical Type essay satire parenting advice When to use this quote - parent‑child interaction - training programs - policy design Key Concepts developmental psychology authoritarianism child agency Questions to Reflect On - What practical steps can parents take when advice feels unrealistic? - How can experts incorporate real‑world feedback? A Different Perspective Theory may not translate into practice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atoms/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [End of the day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-of-the-day/) [Experts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experts/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Hands on experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands-on-experience/) [Irony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irony/) [Stubbornness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stubbornness/) [Training](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/training/) [Two year olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two-year-olds/) ## Related quotes > [The stubbornness I had as a child has been transmitted into perseverance. I can let go but I don't give up. I don't beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phylicia-rashad/the-stubbornness-i-had-as-a-child-has-been-transmitted-into/) [Phylicia Rashad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phylicia-rashad/) > [How can one explain all the time and thought that goes into raising a child, all the opportunities for mistakes, all the chances to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/how-can-one-explain-all-the-time-and-thought-that-goes-into-raising-a/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [In an ideal society, mothers and fathers would produce potty- trained, civilized, responsible new citizens while government and corporate leaders would provide a safe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/in-an-ideal-society-mothers-and-fathers-would-produce-potty-trained/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [In the range of things toddlers have to learn and endlessly review--why you can't put bottles with certain labels in your mouth, why you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/in-the-range-of-things-toddlers-have-to-learn-and-endlessly-review/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [A practical part of my teaching is to provide demonstrative, hands-on experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-tufte/a-practical-part-of-my-teaching-is-to-provide-demonstrative-hands-on/) [Edward Tufte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-tufte/) > [The first rule of venture capitalism is hands-on experience. You have to get your hands dirty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinod-khosla/the-first-rule-of-venture-capitalism-is-hands-on-experience-you-have/) [Vinod Khosla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinod-khosla/) > [I did not always achieve what I set out to do. Nevertheless, my personal example certainly suggests that hands-on experience can be helpful to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/i-did-not-always-achieve-what-i-set-out-to-do-nevertheless-my/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [I'm delighted that our high school kids are developing these positives relationships with our police officers and getting such terrific hands-on experience. This will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-matthews/i-m-delighted-that-our-high-school-kids-are-developing-these/) Deb Matthews > [I'm a person who enjoys the hands-on experience of anything I do. Get your hands dirty - that's the thing that drives and motivates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-raikes/i-m-a-person-who-enjoys-the-hands-on-experience-of-anything-i-do-get/) [Jeff Raikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-raikes/) > [I do think there is something to be said for those who have significant experience at state level and have run campaigns or have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-romer/i-do-think-there-is-something-to-be-said-for-those-who-have/) [Roy Romer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-romer/) > [Hands-on experience at the critical time, not systematic knowledge, is what counts in the making of a naturalist. Better to be an untutored savage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/hands-on-experience-at-the-critical-time-not-systematic-knowledge-is/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Some of you think that attending a top business school gives you an advantage. Others think that street smarts and hands-on experience are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/some-of-you-think-that-attending-a-top-business-school-gives-you-an/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [The only thing better than "hands-on" experience is hands-off experience - enough experience to understand that some things will turn out better if left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-only-thing-better-than-hands-on-experience-is-hands-off/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [My first professional acting job was on 'Boss'. My first acting job was basically my first acting class. I had to show up on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rotimi/my-first-professional-acting-job-was-on-boss-my-first-acting-job-was/) [Rotimi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rotimi/) > [There is one, and only one solution, and we have almost no time to try it. We must turn all our resources to repairing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/there-is-one-and-only-one-solution-and-we-have-almost-no-time-to-try/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) ## More by Mary Blakely > [The truth invariably arrives several years after you need it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/the-truth-invariably-arrives-several-years-after-you-need-it/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [However diligent she may be, however dedicated, no mother can escape the larger influences of culture, biology,fate . . . until we can actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/however-diligent-she-may-be-however-dedicated-no-mother-can-escape/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [In motherhood, where seemingly opposite realities can be simultaneously true, the role of nurturer invariably conflicts with the role of socializer. When trouble came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/in-motherhood-where-seemingly-opposite-realities-can-be/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [Mothers are likely to have more bad days on the job than most other professionals, considering the hours: round-the-clock, seven days a week, fifty-two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/mothers-are-likely-to-have-more-bad-days-on-the-job-than-most-other/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [By now, legions of tireless essayists and op-ed columnists have dressed feminists down for making such a fuss about entering the professions and earning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/by-now-legions-of-tireless-essayists-and-op-ed-columnists-have/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [Families don't always realize that mother is exhausted, because mother is always exhausted. Exhausted is what looks normal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/families-don-t-always-realize-that-mother-is-exhausted-because-mother/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [If my sons are to become the kind of men our daughters would be pleased to live among, attention to domestic details is critical.The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/if-my-sons-are-to-become-the-kind-of-men-our-daughters-would-be/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [After I discovered the real life of mothers bore little resemblance to the plot outlined in most of the books and articles I'd read,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/after-i-discovered-the-real-life-of-mothers-bore-little-resemblance/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [A "snapshot" feature in USA Today listed the five greatest concerns parents and teachers had about children in the '50s: talking out of turn,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/a-snapshot-feature-in-usa-today-listed-the-five-greatest-concerns/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [Most literature on the culture of adolescence focuses on peer pressure as a negative force. Warnings about the "wrong crowd" read like tornado alerts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/most-literature-on-the-culture-of-adolescence-focuses-on-peer/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [However global I strove to become in my thinking over the past twenty years, my sons kept me rooted to an utterly pedestrian view,intimately…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/however-global-i-strove-to-become-in-my-thinking-over-the-past-twenty/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [In the range of things toddlers have to learn and endlessly review--why you can't put bottles with certain labels in your mouth, why you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/in-the-range-of-things-toddlers-have-to-learn-and-endlessly-review/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [When trouble comes no mother should have to plead guilty alone. The pediatricians, psychologists, therapists, goat herders, fathers, and peer groups should all be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/when-trouble-comes-no-mother-should-have-to-plead-guilty-alone-the/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [It takes twenty or so years before a mother can know with any certainty how effective her theories have been--and even then thereare surprises.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/it-takes-twenty-or-so-years-before-a-mother-can-know-with-any/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) > [One life stamps and influences another, which in turn stamps and influences another, on and on, until the soul of human experience breathes on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-blakely/one-life-stamps-and-influences-another-which-in-turn-stamps-and/) [Mary Blakely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) [Explore all 34 Mary Blakely quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-blakely/) ## More Atoms quotes > [If the polymer chain assumes a helicoidal conformation in the crystalline state, and if it does not contain asymmetric carbon atoms, it can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giulio-natta/if-the-polymer-chain-assumes-a-helicoidal-conformation-in-the/) Giulio Natta > [Physicist Isador Isaac Rabi, who won a Nobel Prize for inventing a technique that permitted scientists to probe the structure of atoms and molecules…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/physicist-isador-isaac-rabi-who-won-a-nobel-prize-for-inventing-a/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [A monkey is unaware that atoms exist. 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One world or none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-chase/traditional-nationalism-cannot-survive-the-fissioning-of-the-atom-one/) [Stuart Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-chase/) > [I am not sure why, but I have been obsessed by the Atom Bomb ever since it first happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lanford-wilson/i-am-not-sure-why-but-i-have-been-obsessed-by-the-atom-bomb-ever/) [Lanford Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lanford-wilson/) > [History is the short trudge from Adam to atom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/history-is-the-short-trudge-from-adam-to-atom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The dogma of the impossibility of determining the atomic constitution of substances, which until recently was advocated with such fervor by the most able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-korner/the-dogma-of-the-impossibility-of-determining-the-atomic-constitution/) Wilhelm Korner > [I have never seen what to me seemed an atom of proof that there is a future life. 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