Mark Foreman > Quotes

“Children are priceless. There must be an equally invaluable purpose for each life.”
― Mark Foreman, Never Say No: Raising Big-Picture Kids

“Our role as parents is to increasingly motivate our children to act from within, not simply act correctly.”
― Mark Foreman, Never Say No: Raising Big-Picture Kids

“In the same way, each family creates a new us that is unlike any other family. If we add the promise of a new creation in Christ, we can include the dimension of God’s likeness coming into our homes. Now the possibilities are endless.”
― Mark Foreman, Never Say No: Raising Big-Picture Kids

“No is a commanding word. It can be a denial, a rejection, an expression of fear, or an unintended statement of worth. But a thousand noes can be dwarfed by the power of one yes. We say yes to the stuff and people we value.”
― Mark Foreman, Never Say No: Raising Big-Picture Kids

“These basic goals of safety, health, happiness, even success, are often too shallow to be admitted by conscientious parents. But they still lie beneath the surface, like tectonic forces, and shape how we parent. In a recent Harvard survey, 80 percent of youth said adults in their lives were more concerned about their success or happiness than caring for others. Ironically, in the same survey, the adults insisted that growing caring kids was their top priority. Obviously, there is often a gap between what we believe should matter and how we actually live.1”
― Mark Foreman, Never Say No: Raising Big-Picture Kids

“Parents have only a few short years to make a difference in a few lives. We can’t afford to give many people precious quality time, but we can focus on nurturing a handful of significant others. These are the ones who are uniquely grafted into our lives, and we in theirs. This modest group always includes immediate family when we become parents: our spouse and our kids. That defines our first inner circle.”
― Mark Foreman, Never Say No: Raising Big-Picture Kids

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well. —Ralph Waldo Emerson”
― Mark Foreman, Never Say No: Raising Big-Picture Kids

“Never say no to all the dreams and creative ideas your children have. Never say no to the realization you can become different than your mom or dad. Especially never say no to your kids’ requests to join them, like playing dress up with your little girl or going surfing with your teenager when the weather’s cold and windy. If you say no too often, they’ll stop asking.”
― Mark Foreman, Never Say No: Raising Big-Picture Kids

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are. —E. E. Cummings”
― Mark Foreman, Never Say No: Raising Big-Picture Kids

“You are the same today as you’ll be in five years except for two things: the books you read and the people you meet. —Charlie “Tremendous” Jones, Life Is Tremendous”
― Mark Foreman, Never Say No: Raising Big-Picture Kids

“Everything is grace. Be thankful. Give grace away.”
― Mark Foreman, Never Say No: Raising Big-Picture Kids