--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The parenting books didn't work for me; I…" description: "\"The parenting books didn't work for me; I got my parenting lessons from everything but the books! And it was about figuring things out. So every time I..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12a/sonali-bendre-8619_books_the-parenting-books-didn-t-work-for-me-i_144215.jpg" --- # The parenting books didn't work for me; I got my parenting… ![“The parenting books didn't work for me; I got my parenting lessons from everything but the books! And it was about figuring things out. So every time I had a thought, I would put down my conclusions and thoughts.” quote by Sonali Bendre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12a/sonali-bendre-8619_books_the-parenting-books-didn-t-work-for-me-i_144215.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12a/sonali-bendre-8619_books_the-parenting-books-didn-t-work-for-me-i_144215.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12a/sonali-bendre-8619_books_the-parenting-books-didn-t-work-for-me-i_144215.jpg) > “The parenting books didn't work for me; I got my parenting lessons from everything but the books! And it was about figuring things out. So every time I had a thought, I would put down my conclusions and thoughts.” [Sonali Bendre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonali-bendre/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Parenting lessons often come from lived experience rather than books, emphasizing trial, error, and personal reflection. **In simple terms:** Parenting is learned by doing. Key Takeaway Embrace experiential learning in parenting. Themes parenting experience learning reflection Mood pragmatic warm Type parenting inspirational When to use this quote - daily caregiving - parent‑teacher meetings - online forums Key Concepts developmental psychology family dynamics practical wisdom Questions to Reflect On - What experience taught you most? - How do you balance intuition and advice? A Different Perspective Books still offer valuable frameworks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Lessons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lessons/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [When I'm writing a book - say I'm going to write a parenting book. I'll go out and buy the 100 top parenting books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-winget/when-i-m-writing-a-book-say-i-m-going-to-write-a-parenting-book-i-ll/) [Larry Winget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-winget/) > [The science can tell you that the thousands of pseudo-scientific parenting books out there - not to mention the 'Baby Einstein' DVDs and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/the-science-can-tell-you-that-the-thousands-of-pseudo-scientific/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [Here's a confession: I hate parenting books. I hate the ones that are earnest and repetitive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feiler/here-s-a-confession-i-hate-parenting-books-i-hate-the-ones-that-are/) [Bruce Feiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feiler/) > [I listen to parenting books on tape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaria-baldwin/i-listen-to-parenting-books-on-tape/) [Hilaria Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaria-baldwin/) > [Whites were the winners, blacks were the losers, we wrote the history books, and they didn't feature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillip-noyce/whites-were-the-winners-blacks-were-the-losers-we-wrote-the-history/) [Phillip Noyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillip-noyce/) > [I've always loved children's books - it's not that I didn't like them, I just didn't think I wanted to do that. But then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-selznick/i-ve-always-loved-children-s-books-it-s-not-that-i-didn-t-like-them-i/) [Brian Selznick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-selznick/) > [I used to steal from the library, which is a crime and it's bad, but I just couldn't get enough books, and I also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-pascoe/i-used-to-steal-from-the-library-which-is-a-crime-and-it-s-bad-but-i/) [Sara Pascoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-pascoe/) > [“There wasn’t much left at the end of the month for her favorite luxuries—great clothes and hardback books, but she didn’t mind. She bargain-shopped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/there-wasn-t-much-left-at-the-end-of-the-month-for-her-favorite/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [“All books are good,’ he said. ‘That’s not true,’ I said. ‘I’ve read some really bad books.’ I was thinking specifically of Anne of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-jewell/all-books-are-good-he-said-that-s-not-true-i-said-i-ve-read-some/) [Lisa Jewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-jewell/) > [Books didn't figure in my family very much. . . . However, my grandmother's attic was full of old, old books . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass-2/books-didn-t-figure-in-my-family-very-much-however-my-grandmother-s/) William H Gass > [“He planned for his son or daughter to have three or four toys, minimal sports equipment, and a thousand books. He didn't care for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brandon/he-planned-for-his-son-or-daughter-to-have-three-or-four-toys-minimal/) [John Brandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brandon/) > [Censorship is a strange situation. There was times when people would burn books because they didn't like what people were doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-berryman/censorship-is-a-strange-situation-there-was-times-when-people-would/) [Michael Berryman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-berryman/) > [“You really have a thing for books." When I didn't respond, he closed the the laptop without touching it. "It's cute.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/you-really-have-a-thing-for-books-when-i-didn-t-respond-he-closed-the/) [Jennifer L. Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/) > [I wanted to know what it was like to be a drug addict, and have an eating disorder, and have a loved one die,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pearce/i-wanted-to-know-what-it-was-like-to-be-a-drug-addict-and-have-an/) [Jackson Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pearce/) > [Books were always important. I have to thank my father, he filled my life with books. He didn't write but he always read. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rawi-hage/books-were-always-important-i-have-to-thank-my-father-he-filled-my/) [Rawi Hage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rawi-hage/) ## More by Sonali Bendre > [My parents are naive in their morality of things, and so, without realising it, I landed up being ethical and having strong opinions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonali-bendre/my-parents-are-naive-in-their-morality-of-things-and-so-without/) [Sonali Bendre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonali-bendre/) > [Every cancer is different. The symptoms and treatments are different, and every human body deals with it differently. There are no formulas to it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonali-bendre/every-cancer-is-different-the-symptoms-and-treatments-are-different/) [Sonali Bendre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonali-bendre/) > [My routine is very simple because I realised that the more complicated the exercise sessions are, the less likely I am to make it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonali-bendre/my-routine-is-very-simple-because-i-realised-that-the-more/) [Sonali Bendre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonali-bendre/) > [There's a hidden Goth in me: I have a dark sense of humour; I have a dark sense of fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonali-bendre/there-s-a-hidden-goth-in-me-i-have-a-dark-sense-of-humour-i-have-a/) [Sonali Bendre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonali-bendre/) > [If I return to films, the feeling to do it must come from the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonali-bendre/if-i-return-to-films-the-feeling-to-do-it-must-come-from-the-heart/) [Sonali Bendre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonali-bendre/) > [Once you are a parent, everything takes a back seat. It ceases to be a role. It is a reality. Once I had Ranveer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonali-bendre/once-you-are-a-parent-everything-takes-a-back-seat-it-ceases-to-be-a/) [Sonali Bendre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonali-bendre/) > [Marriage is not synonymous to change but a new dimension to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonali-bendre/marriage-is-not-synonymous-to-change-but-a-new-dimension-to-life/) [Sonali Bendre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonali-bendre/) > [All we have is the knowledge passed on to us by our elders, experiences we inculcate and hardly negate. But to bridge the generation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonali-bendre/all-we-have-is-the-knowledge-passed-on-to-us-by-our-elders/) [Sonali Bendre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonali-bendre/) > [My mother-in-law thinks I'm more beautiful than all the other faces around. She keeps encouraging me to take up more work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonali-bendre/my-mother-in-law-thinks-i-m-more-beautiful-than-all-the-other-faces/) [Sonali Bendre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonali-bendre/) > [There are certain images attached to an Indian woman - a mother, daughter, homemaker... there are certain parts of it that I really like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonali-bendre/there-are-certain-images-attached-to-an-indian-woman-a-mother/) [Sonali Bendre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonali-bendre/) > [My writing did turn out to be quite intact, as it has all my experiences gathered at one place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonali-bendre/my-writing-did-turn-out-to-be-quite-intact-as-it-has-all-my/) [Sonali Bendre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonali-bendre/) > [I have fond memories of consuming a handful of almonds that were soaked the previous night and peeled the next morning. All through my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonali-bendre/i-have-fond-memories-of-consuming-a-handful-of-almonds-that-were/) [Sonali Bendre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonali-bendre/) > [As it is, 'Size Zero' is not for me. I feel a woman should have a feminine figure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonali-bendre/as-it-is-size-zero-is-not-for-me-i-feel-a-woman-should-have-a/) [Sonali Bendre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonali-bendre/) > [I have two full-time jobs: one of a mother and the other of an actor. Both are equally important, and that's why I'm busy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonali-bendre/i-have-two-full-time-jobs-one-of-a-mother-and-the-other-of-an-actor/) [Sonali Bendre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonali-bendre/) > [My memories of the whirlwind '90s are a blur of work schedules. I was completing my B. Com. degree in 1991 when I took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonali-bendre/my-memories-of-the-whirlwind-90s-are-a-blur-of-work-schedules-i-was/) [Sonali Bendre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonali-bendre/) [Explore all 79 Sonali Bendre quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonali-bendre/) ## More Books 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/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [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/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [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/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [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/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The parenting books didn't work for me; I got my parenting lessons from everything but the books! And it was about figuring things out. So every time I had a thought, I would put down my conclusions and thoughts.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sonali Bendre" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonali-bendre/the-parenting-books-didn-t-work-for-me-i-got-my-parenting-lessons/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonali-bendre/the-parenting-books-didn-t-work-for-me-i-got-my-parenting-lessons/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12a/sonali-bendre-8619_books_the-parenting-books-didn-t-work-for-me-i_144215.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12a/sonali-bendre-8619_books_the-parenting-books-didn-t-work-for-me-i_144215.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12a/sonali-bendre-8619_books_the-parenting-books-didn-t-work-for-me-i_144215.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The parenting books didn't work for me; I got my parenting lessons from everything but the books! And it was…” — Sonali Bendre", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Sonali Bendre", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonali-bendre/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The parenting books didn't work for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonali-bendre/the-parenting-books-didn-t-work-for-me-i-got-my-parenting-lessons/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonali-bendre/the-parenting-books-didn-t-work-for-me-i-got-my-parenting-lessons/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```