In a Nutshell - 6: Pearls of Parenting Wisdom and Humor

• I think parenting needs to come out of the closet as the messy, wonderful, scary, daring occupation that it is. (Natalie, 32, mother of two)
• I used to think parents who told me that my whole life would change when I had kids were either bad parents or crazy. How could it be that hard? Then I had Olivia! (Mary, 37, mother of one)
• Parenting in the real world is a whole lot messier than parenting on TV. Unless, of course, you happen to tune into Malcolm in the Middle. (Ann Douglas)
• The average American child is exposed to more than 20,000 commercial messages each year. Brand loyalty is now beginning as early as age two. (Ann Douglas)
• From the day a toddler issues her first declaration of independence with a loud, emphatic ‘NO!’ the parent-child relationship becomes a tug-of-war between holding on and letting go. (Nancy Samalin)
• The child supplies the power, but the parents have to do the steering. (Dr. Spock)
• I buried a lot of ironing in the backyard. (Phyllis Diller)