Top 50 Haim G. Ginott Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “Treat a child as though he already is the person he’s capable of becoming.”

— Haim G. Ginott

Featured in: Education Quotes, Growth Mindset Quotes, Expectations Quotes, Quotes About Childhood, Parenting Quotes

2. “Teachers are expected to reach unattainable goals with inadequate tools. The miracle is that at times they accomplish this impossible task.”

— Haim G. Ginott

3. “If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.”

— Haim G. Ginott

4. “Only if a child feels right can he think right.”

— Haim G. Ginott

5. “I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or dehumanized.”

— Haim G. Ginott

6. “While parents possess the original key to their offspring’s experience, teachers have a spare key. They, too, can open or close the minds and hearts of children.”

— Haim G. Ginott

7. “If you want your children to improve, let them overhear the nice things you say about them to others.”

— Haim G. Ginott

8. “When a child hits a child, we call it aggression. When a child hits an adult, we call it hostility. When an adult hits an adult, we call it assault. When an adult hits a child, we call it discipline.”

— Haim G. Ginott

9. “The search for a personal identity is the life task of a teenager.”

— Haim G. Ginott

10. “A modern teacher educates children to value their emotions.”

— Haim G. Ginott

11. “Misbehavior and punishment are not opposites that cancel each other – on the contrary they breed and reinforce each other.”

— Haim G. Ginott

12. “Adolescence can be a time of turmoil and turbulence, of stress and storm. Rebellion against authority and against convention is to be expected and tolerated for the sake of learning and growth.”

— Haim G. Ginott

13. “In criticism parents attack children’s personality attributes and their character. In guidance we state the problem and a possible solution. We say nothing to the child about himself or herself. When.”

— Haim G. Ginott

14. “Responsibility is fostered by allowing children a voice and wherever indicated a choice in matters that affect them.”

— Haim G. Ginott

15. “Empathy, a parent’s ability to understand what a child is feeling, is an important and valuable ingredient of child rearing.”

— Haim G. Ginott

16. “To be himself, one neeeds to be free from the pressure of evaluative praise.”

— Haim G. Ginott

17. “What is the goal of parenting? It’s to help a child grow up to be a decent human being, a mensch, a person with compassion, commitment, and caring.”

— Haim G. Ginott

18. “Misbehavior and punishment are not opposites that cancel each other; on the contrary, they breed and reinforce each other. Punishment does not deter misconduct. It makes the offender more skillful in escaping detection. When children are punished they resolve to be more careful, not more obedient or responsible. Parents.”

— Haim G. Ginott

19. “Teenagers crave independence. The more self-suf-ficient we make them feel, the less hostile they are toward us.”

— Haim G. Ginott

20. “Words of praise should mirror for the child a realistic picture of her accomplishments, not a distorted image of her personality.”

— Haim G. Ginott

21. “Children do not yearn for equal shares of love: They need to be loved uniquely, not uniformly. The emphasis is on quality, not equality. We.”

— Haim G. Ginott

22. “A limit must be stated in a manner that is deliberately calculated to minimize resentment, and to save self-respect. The very process of limit-setting, of saying “no,” should convey authority, not insult. It should deal with a specific event, not with a developmental history.”

— Haim G. Ginott

23. “Like a trained surgeon who is careful where he cuts, parents, too, need to become skilled in the use of words. Because words are like knives. They can inflict, if not physical, many painful emotional wounds.”

— Haim G. Ginott

24. “Wise parents know that fighting a teenager, like fighting a riptide, is inviting doom.”

— Haim G. Ginott

25. “When the child is allowed to experience the self as an individual with self-originating needs and goals, that child begins to assume responsibility for his or her own life and its demands. Allowance:.”

— Haim G. Ginott

26. “Parenthood is an endless series of small events, periodic conflicts, and sudden crises which call for a response. The response is not without consequence: it affects personality for better or for worse.”

— Haim G. Ginott

27. “Why do children lie? Sometimes they lie because they are not allowed to tell the truth. Four-year-old.”

— Haim G. Ginott

28. “Children become frustrated and resentful when they view their parents as not being interested “in how they feel and in their point of view.”

— Haim G. Ginott

29. “Responsibility in children starts with the parents’ attitude and skills. The attitudes include a willingness to allow children to feel all their feelings; the skills include an ability to demonstrate to children acceptable ways of coping with feelings. The.”

— Haim G. Ginott

30. “Rewards are most helpful and more enjoyable when they are unannounced in advance, when they come as a surprise, when they represent recognition and appreciation. Promises:.”

— Haim G. Ginott

31. “It is a deep comfort to children to discover that their feelings are a normal part of the human experience. There is no better way to convey that than to understand them. When.”

— Haim G. Ginott

32. “The main purpose of music education in childhood is to provide an effective outlet for feelings. A child’s life is so full of restrictions, regulations, and frustrations that outlets of release become essential. Music is one of the best avenues of release: It gives sound to fury, shape to joy, and relief to tension. Parents.”

— Haim G. Ginott

33. “Where do we start if we are to improve communication with children? By examining how we respond. We even know the words. We heard our parents use them with guests and strangers. It is a language that is protective of feelings, not critical of behavior. What.”

— Haim G. Ginott

34. “Young children have genuine difficulty in coping with their socially unacceptable impulses. The parents must be an ally in the child’s struggle for control of such impulses. By setting limits, the parent offers help to the child. Besides stopping dangerous conduct, the limit also conveys a silent message: You don’t have to be afraid of your impulses. I won’t let you go too far. It is safe. Techniques.”

— Haim G. Ginott

35. “Anger should be expressed in a way that brings some relief to the parent, some insight to the child, and no harmful side effects to either of them.”

— Haim G. Ginott

36. “Another way parents can prevent children from lying is to avoid the question “Why?” Once upon a time “why” was a term of inquiry. This meaning has long vanished. It was corrupted by the misuse of “why” as a coin of criticism. To children “why” stands for parental disapproval, disappointment, and displeasure. It elicits echoes of past blame. Even a simple “Why did you do that?” may suggest “Why in the world did you do something as stupid as that?” A.”

— Haim G. Ginott

37. “An empathic response that mirrors to children their upset feelings and expresses the parents’ sympathy and understanding is effective in changing children’s angry moods. The.”

— Haim G. Ginott

38. “A warning serves as a challenge to the child’s autonomy.”

— Haim G. Ginott

39. “The rule is that when we know the answer, we do not ask the question.”

— Haim G. Ginott

40. “Feelings must be dealt with before behavior can be improved.”

— Haim G. Ginott

41. “Parents often talk about the younger generation as if they didn’t have anything to do with it.”

— Haim G. Ginott

42. “The limit against hitting a parent should not be modified under any circumstances. Effective upbringing is based on mutual respect between parent and child without the parent’s abdicating the adult role.”

— Haim G. Ginott

43. “The peaceful home, like the hoped-for peaceful world, does not depend on a sudden benevolent change in human nature. It does depend on deliberate procedures that methodically reduce tensions before they lead to explosions. Emotionally healthy parents are not saints. They’re aware of their anger and respect it. They use their anger as a source of information, an indication of their caring. Their words are congruent with their feelings. They do not hide their feelings.”

— Haim G. Ginott

44. “The single most important rule is that praise deal only with children’s efforts and accomplishments, not with their character and personality. When.”

— Haim G. Ginott

45. “When we genuinely acknowledge a child’s plight and voice her disappointment, she often gathers the strength to face reality. Seven-year-old.”

— Haim G. Ginott

46. “Unfortunately, when parents are confronted with children’s misbehavior, they are unaware that usually disturbing feelings fuel that behavior. Feelings must be dealt with before behavior can be improved. As.”

— Haim G. Ginott

47. “The plain fact is that responsibility cannot be imposed. It can only grow from within, fed and directed by values absorbed at home and in the community. Responsibility that is not anchored in positive values can be antisocial and destructive. Gang members often show great loyalty and strong responsibility in relation to one another and to their gang. Terrorists take their duties in dead earnest; they carry out commands, even if they involve sacrificing their own lives. The.”

— Haim G. Ginott

48. “Many teenagers are tormented by terrors they deem private and personal. They do not know that their anxieties and doubts are universal.”

— Haim G. Ginott

49. “It is essential that a child’s life not be ruled by the adult’s need for efficiency. Efficiency is the enemy of infancy. It is too costly in terms of the child’s emotional economy. It drains the child’s resources, prevents growth, stifles interests, and may lead to emotional meltdowns. Children need opportunities to experiment, struggle, and learn without being rushed or insulted. Anxiety.”

— Haim G. Ginott

50. “Each of us carries within himself a collection of instant insults.”

— Haim G. Ginott