Quotes about children

„I write and leave behind me this letter at St. Petersburg. I feel that I shall leave life before January 1st. I wish to make known to the Russian people, to Papa, to the Russian Mother and to the children, to the land of Russia, what they must understand. If I am killed by common assassins, and especially by my brothers the Russian peasants, you, Tsar of Russia, have nothing to fear, remain on your throne and govern, and you, Russian Tsar, will have nothing to fear for your children, they will reign for hundreds of years in Russia. But if I am murdered by boyars, nobles, and if they shed my blood, their hands will remain soiled with my blood, for twenty-five years they will not wash their hands from my blood. They will leave Russia. Brothers will kill brothers, and they will kill each other and hate each other, and for twenty-five years there will be no noblers in the country. Tsar of the land of Russia, if you hear the sound of the bell which will tell you that Grigory has been killed, you must know this: if it was your relations who have wrought my death then no one of your family, that is to say, none of your children or relations will remain alive for more than two years. They will be killed by the Russian people…I shall be killed. I am no longer among the living. Pray, pray, be strong, think of your blessed family.“

—  Grigori Rasputin Russian mystic 1869 - 1916

Grigory Rasputin in a letter to the Tsarina Alexandra, 7 Dec 1916

„Where is the book in which the teacher can read about what teaching is? The children themselves are this book. We should not learn to teach out of any book other than the one lying open before us and consisting of the children themselves.“

—  Rudolf Steiner Austrian esotericist 1861 - 1925

Source: Rhythms of Learning

„Once upon a time there was a lady. She had no children, and no happiness either. And at first she cried for a long time, but then she became wicked...“

—  Mikhail Bulgakov, book The Master and Margarita

Book Two in 'Flight', B/O, Margarita talking about herself to a young girl
Source: The Master and Margarita (1967)

„Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.“

—  Rosa Parks African-American civil rights activist 1913 - 2005

„Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.“

—  James Baldwin (1924-1987) writer from the United States 1924 - 1987

„My child, let your life come into the world of darkness
like a spark of light, without flicker and pure,
and thank them in silence. You know,
my child, they are cruel in their greed and envy,
their words are disguised knives thirsting for blood.
But do not be afraid, my child, go and stand in their hearts,
and let your gentle eyes fall on them like the forgiving serenity of the night.
My child, let them see your face and so they know it
meaning of all things, let them love and love one another.
Go, at sunrise, open and lift up your heart like a blooming flower,
and at sunset, bend your head and silently complete the worship of the day.
Remember, my child, gods and demons, ghosts and elves are fragments of one,
built by the hand of the abyss.
So, move on, go to the shore of the vast darkness,
there, is the Great Meeting of Children,
there, the sea gives a smile to the beach,
there, sing the waves facing death.“

—  Alexis Karpouzos 1967

Source: https://dailywisdomwords.com/community-poetry/my-child/

„I was doing press for the show and they were going to show a clip from The L Word that included a love scene of sorts between me and another character, and she had the audacity to say, 'If there are any children in the room, you might want to ask them to leave.' And my mind was blown open and I said to her, ‘If it had been a heterosexual love scene, would you have asked the same question?’ I asked her on air, because I thought, it’s important to ask -- it contextualizes the import of the show." My feelings were hurt and it just spoke to me of what the gay and lesbian community has to deal with on a day-to-day basis in terms of popular media.“

—  Jennifer Beals American actress and a former teen model 1963

Beals and Obama article (3 March 2009) http://www.douban.com/note/29958902/.

„Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.“

—  Robert Fulghum American writer 1937

As quoted in Reflections for Tending the Sacred Garden (2003) by Bonita Jean Zimmer, p. 182

„It's easier to build strong children then repair broken men.“

—  Frederick Douglass American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman 1818 - 1895

Variant: It is easier to build strong men, than to repair broken ones.
Source: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

„The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say, "The children are now working as if I did not exist.“

—  Maria Montessori Italian pedagogue, philosopher and physician 1870 - 1952

„You should have to pass an IQ test before you breed. You have to take a driving test to operate vehicles and an SAT test to get into college. So why don’t you have to take some sort of test before you give birth to children? When I am President, that’s the first rule I will institute.“

—  Marilyn Manson American rock musician and actor 1969

„Religionists have kept their followers in line by suppressing their egos. By making their followers feel inferior, the awesomeness of their god is insured. Satanism encourages its members to develop a good strong ego because it gives them the self-respect necessary for a vital existence in this life. If a person has been vital throughout his life and has fought to the end for his earthly existence, it is this ego which will refuse to die, even after the expiration of the flesh which housed it. Young children are to be admired for their driving enthusiasm for life. This is exemplified by the small child who refuses to go to bed when there is something exciting going on, and when once put to bed, will sneak down the stairs to peek through the curtain and watch. It is this child-like vitality that will allow the Satanist to peek through the curtain of darkness and death and remain earthbound.“

—  Anton LaVey, book The Satanic Bible

The Satanic Bible (1969)

„Instead of buying your children all the things you never had, you should teach them all the things you were never taught. Material wears out but knowledge stays.“

—  Bruce Lee Hong Kong-American actor, martial artist, philosopher and filmmaker 1940 - 1973

„Women that bear children must exist in Zululand only.“

—  Shaka leader of the Zulu Kingdom 1787 - 1828

Statement advocating genocidal policies against tribes which opposed his conquests, as reported in Lessons on Leadership by Terror : Finding Shaka Zulu in the Attic (2005) by Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries, p. 40

„Many adults feel that every children's book has to teach them something…. My theory is a children's book… can be just for fun.“

—  R.L. Stine American writer and producer 1943

„And this is what I have come to think: That if I want to identify fully with Jesus Christ, whom I claim to be my Savior and Lord the best way that I can do that is to identify with the poor. This I know will go against the teachings of all the popular evangelical preachers. But they’re just wrong. They’re not bad, they’re just wrong. Christianity is not about building an absolutely secure little niche in the world where you can live with your perfect little wife and your perfect little children in your beautiful little house where you have no gays or minority groups anywhere near you. Christianity is about learning to love like Jesus loved and Jesus loved the poor and Jesus loved the broken.“

—  Rich Mullins American christian musician 1955 - 1997

Lufkin, Texas http://www.kidbrothers.net/words/concert-transcripts/lufkin-texas-jul1997-full.html (July 19, 1997)
In Concert

„We know a history so that we can learn from it. We learn our history because we understand the sacrifices that were made before, so that when we make sacrifices we understand we're doing it on behalf of future generations. There’s a proverb that says, “We have not inherited this land from our forebears, we have borrowed it from our children.” In other words, we study the past so it can guide us into the future, and inspire us to do better.“

—  Barack Obama 44th President of the United States of America 1961

2015, Remarks to the Kenyan People (July 2015)

„I would like to make a film to tell children "it's good to be alive".“

—  Hayao Miyazaki Japanese animator, film director, and mangaka 1941

„When you take the time to actually listen, with humility, to what people have to say, it's amazing what you can learn. Especially if the people who are doing the talking also happen to be children.“

—  Greg Mortenson American mountaineer and humanitarian 1957

Source: Stones Into Schools: Promoting Peace With Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan