Anyone with gumption and a sharp mind will take the measure of two things: what's said and what's done.
Seamus HeaneyRead
My father and mother had no sense of entitlement for their children.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the idea that parents should not expect anything from their children but should instead support their growth.
Seamus Heaney's quote emphasizes the values of humility and selflessness in parenting. By stating that his parents had no sense of entitlement for their children, Heaney highlights the importance of allowing children to develop their own paths without imposing expectations or demands. This perspective fosters a healthy relationship between parents and children, rooted in unconditional support rather than obligation.
Themes
ParentsEntitlementSupportFamilySelflessness
In practice
Example use cases
During a family gathering, one might use this quote to spark a discussion about parenting styles.
More from Seamus Heaney
All quotes βWhat I've said before, only half in joke, is that everybody in Ireland is famous. Or, maybe better, say everybody is familiar.
Seamus HeaneyRead
The kinds of truth that art gives us many, many times are small truths. They don't have the resonance of an encyclical from the Pope stating an eternal truth, but they partake of the quality of eternity. There is a sort of timeless delight in them.
Seamus HeaneyRead
If self is a location, so is love: Bearings taken, markings, cardinal points, Options, obstinacies, dug heels, and distance, Here and there and now and then, a stance.
Seamus HeaneyRead
In my early teens, I acquired a kind of representative status: went on behalf of the family to wakes and funerals and so on. And I would be counted on as an adult contributor when it came to farm work - the hay in the summertime, for example.
Seamus HeaneyRead
I think that water is immediately interesting. It's just, as an element, it is full of life. It is associated with origin; it is bright - it reflects you.
Seamus HeaneyRead
Similar quotes
Never could I expect to be so truly beloved and important; so always first and always right in any man's eyes as I am in my father's.
Jane AustenRead
The transmission of human life is a most serious role in which married people collaborate freely and responsibly with God the Creator.
Pope Paul ViRead
Our child benefit goes directly to the families who need it the most.
Justin TrudeauRead
When my brother called to inform me, on the morning of May 22, 2003, that our mother Caroline Oates had died suddenly of a stroke, it was a shock from which, in a way, I have yet to recover.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
I came back to work when my children were two months old. At that early age, they seem to have little awareness of anybody but their Raggedy Ann dolls, so it wasn't a matter of them missing me. I was missing them.
Jane PauleyRead
My parents gave me stability and a belief in myself and in all the possibilities life has to offer. I was told the only limitations I would ever face were those I placed upon myself.
Dionne WarwickRead