Because of the technology and the heightened desperation of the world today, I think it's very possible that we are facing the first century that will complete itself without mankind -- and that's not the future that I want for my children, or for their children.

Sean Penn

If we want our children to spend time with us, to like us, to confide in us, to value some of the things we value, and to try to make us happy (for example, by refraining from the use of dangerous drugs), we must behave toward them in ways that create feelings of love toward us rather than feelings of dislike or anger. We cannot reasonably expect to receive "good" behavior from our children unless we create "good" feelings in them.

Dr. Sidney Craig

I must take issue with the term 'a mere child,' for it has been my invariable experience that the company of a mere child is infinitely preferable to that of a mere adult.

Fran Lebowitz

The first object of all our institutions for children is segregation.

George Bernard Shaw
A Treatise on Parents and Children

I suggest to you that the nation's schools could not have failed, as they have, unless mothers and fathers failed first by abdicating their parental responsibility as guardians of their children's inner development.

Alexandra York

Each generation is raised to exact revenge for the injustices visited on the last, real or imagined.

Chris Hedges in War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning

Protecting one's own children is a biological imperative—it is how our species sustains itself. When an animal fails to protect its babies, they do not survive. And so the negative characteristics of that unprotective parent are not carried forth into new generations.

But it doesn't work that way with human beings. Our minds have evolved ways to sustain ourselves even when we ignore our biological imperatives. Children can no longer rely on our "instincts" for protection. Only our actions can achieve that goal.

For every parent who violates the sacred trust every child represents, there are thousands committed not only to protecting their children but also to protecting all children. That desire is our highest calling. The actual expression of that desire defines the character of each individual. And we can only truly express such a desire with behavior—rhetoric won't get the job done.

Andrew Vachss, Parade Magazine, Nov 3, 1996

This is the first generation in America that doesn't care about their grandchildren... because they've seen them.

Senator Alan Simpson