“But in three years, that very same child might be careening around the cookie table like a chimpanzee on meth, with both fists full of cookies. If one of our parents remembers the vow we all took back in that heartwarming moment and attempts to talk with you about your child, how easy is it to get defensive? The answer: very easy. Your heart and your mouth are full of arguments that are, on paper, good arguments. This person doesn’t know your child’s name. This person doesn’t know your child’s favorite food (it’s cookies). This person doesn’t know your child’s bedtime (they don’t have a bedtime).”

Keep Your Kids, pp. 18-19

“When there is no standard above the state, then the state becomes the standard. If there is no God above the system, then the system becomes god.”

Mere Christendom, p. 22

“We should always remember our propensity to guard against the sin we are least likely to fall into. The indulgent parent is all on guard against tyranny, and the tyrannical parent is very careful not to be too soft.”

Keep Your Kids, p. 17

“In contrast, the dictatorial parent thinks that he is simply being firm, while the indulgent parent thins she is simply being kind. In both cases, they call their failure something else. And on top of that, both types often believe that they’re ‘balancing out’ the other. They each lean in opposite directions in the canoe, which, incidentally, is how you capsize a canoe.”

Keep Your Kids, p. 16

“Any society requires force for the outliers but is not held together at the center by force. When the ruling elites start to opt out of this societal bond—‘laws are for the little people’—there is usually a time lag, but the little people do catch on. And when they catch on, the whole thing spirals down into chaos.”

Keep Your Kids, pp. 21-22