Naomi Stadlen > Quotes

“Babies of around one year old are often active by day and wake frequently at night, for no obvious reason. Then a mother can feel desparate for sleep yet equally desparate to comfort her baby when he needs her at night. I have spoken to many mothers who have sacrificed their own sleep, waking up numerous times every night because their babies cried for them. It seems terrible that these hardworking women think of themselves as failures as a result. Surely a mother who has chosen to sacrifice her sleep deserves respect and admiration for her generous mothering.”
― Naomi Stadlen, What Mothers Do: Especially When it Looks Like Nothing

“Psychology researchers now claim that it is important for babies to learn how to stop crying by themselves. Fortunately, many parents still prefer to comfort their babies. If they didn't, we might find ourselves living in a society of very solitary people, who had learned to control thier distress rather than to find strength through sharing it.”
― Naomi Stadlen, What Mothers Do: Especially When it Looks Like Nothing

“Being a mother is not a matter of running through a succession of chores.”
― Naomi Stadlen, What Mothers Do: Especially When it Looks Like Nothing

“A person who has 'tidied up' has both the words and a tidy area to show for it. It is much harder to find a word that describes the giving-up-things mode of attention a mother is giving to her baby.”
― Naomi Stadlen, What Mothers Do: Especially When it Looks Like Nothing

“Dar cariño exige valentía, porque no hay reciprocidad garantizada. Una madre espera sin duda que su amor ayude a su hijo a cobrar conciencia de lo mejor de sí mismo. Puede que así sea. Y, sin embargo, ni siquiera su amor puede obrar ese efecto. Es el hijo quien elige en qué clase de persona va a convertirse. Una madre no puede ofrecer sus afectos a cambio de una retribución concreta. Si tiene la valentía de dar cariño es porque quiere dar lo mejor de sí misma, y eso es el amor.”
― Naomi Stadlen, Cómo aman las madres: Y Como Nacen las Relaciones (Crecimiento personal)