"We must return optimism to our parenting. To focus on the joys, not the hassles; the love, not the disappointments; the common sense, not the complexities"
About this Quote
The subtext is quietly rebellious. “Common sense” is doing double duty here: it’s a dig at expert-driven complexity (the endless advice economy, the parenting-industrial complex) and a call to reclaim parental authority from algorithms, books, and judgmental peer cultures. By pairing “common sense” against “complexities,” he frames overthinking as a kind of emotional tax - one that drains pleasure and confidence.
The intent isn’t to romanticize parenting but to reorder attention: optimism as a discipline, not a mood. The repetition of “not” works like a reset button, a rhetorical tidying-up that mirrors the everyday labor of family life. Contextually, it fits a late-20th/early-21st century backdrop where parenting is increasingly treated as a high-stakes project. Gosman offers a counter-script: less crisis management, more presence; less fear of getting it wrong, more permission to actually enjoy the people you’re raising.
Quote Details
| Topic | Parenting |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Gosman, Fred G. (2026, January 16). We must return optimism to our parenting. To focus on the joys, not the hassles; the love, not the disappointments; the common sense, not the complexities. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/we-must-return-optimism-to-our-parenting-to-focus-112135/
Chicago Style
Gosman, Fred G. "We must return optimism to our parenting. To focus on the joys, not the hassles; the love, not the disappointments; the common sense, not the complexities." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/we-must-return-optimism-to-our-parenting-to-focus-112135/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"We must return optimism to our parenting. To focus on the joys, not the hassles; the love, not the disappointments; the common sense, not the complexities." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/we-must-return-optimism-to-our-parenting-to-focus-112135/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.










