"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 for us"
- Bruno Bettelheim
About this Quote
This quote by Bruno Bettelheim speaks with the complexity of the parent-child relationship. It acknowledges that while moms and dads may love their children deeply, this love is often accompanied by other feelings such as annoyance, discouragement, and disappointment. Likewise, children might like their parents deeply, but this love might also be accompanied by other feelings. This quote highlights the truth that the parent-child relationship is not constantly ideal, which it is normal for both moms and dads and children to experience a range of feelings. It is important to keep in mind that these feelings do not negate the love that exists in between parents and children, however rather, they become part of the complex and ever-changing relationship.
"Raising children is an incredibly hard and risky business in which no cumulative wisdom is gained: each generation repeats the mistakes the previous one made"