Do not expect too much from your child and she will grow in your love... But if you push her too much, you will push her away. A child is not yours to own but to raise. She may not be what you will have her to be, but she will be what she has to be. Remember what they say, that 'Wood may remain twenty years in the water, but it is still not a fish. Jane Yolen
About This Quote

Children should be expected to grow in their own way. They are not owned by their parents, so it is important for parents to let go of the idea of owning their children and instead work to help their children become better people. If your child is not what you want her to be, you may need to take the time and work with her until she can understand and accept herself. The lesson here is that we cannot control how people perceive us, but we can control the way we behave. We may wait twenty years in the water and still not be a fish, but we will never be a fish if we do not ever try.

Source: Sister Light, Sister Dark

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More Quotes By Jane Yolen
  1. Fiction cannot recite the numbing numbers, but it can be that witness, that memory. A storyteller can attempt to tell the human tale, can make a galaxy out of the chaos, can point to the fact that some people survived even as most people died....
  2. In fiction, the characters have their own lives. They may start as a gloss on the author’s life, but they move on from there. In poetry, especially confessional poetry but in other poetry as well, the poet is not writing characters so much as emotional...
  3. Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up.
  4. 1. Write every day2. Write what interests you.3. Write for the child inside of you. (Or the adult, if you are writing adult books.)4. Write with honest emotion5. Be careful of being facile6. Be wary of preaching7. Be prepared for serendipity
  5. A book is a wonderful present. Though it may grow worn, it will never grow old.
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