Instead of just saying, "I love my baby and I pick him up because he's adorable and it's so nice to cuddle with him," we practice attachment parenting. We let our children play outside and have age-appropriate freedoms and are labeled free-range parents.
Alison GopnikWhat's it like to be a baby? It's like being in love in Paris for the first time after you've had three double espressos.
Alison GopnikTo support the people we care about is intrinsic, it is not instrumental. It's not something we do because we're hoping to get some other outcome.
Alison GopnikThe more obsessively we focus on what a particular food is going to do for us, the less healthy we've become. Simple pleasures become complicated.
Alison GopnikWhat teenagers want most of all are social rewards, especially the respect of their peers.
Alison GopnikIf you just got enough expertise and enough special techniques and read up enough, then you could shape a child into the kind of adult you wanted. There's almost this kind of competitive enterprise. That picture is the picture I think people often imply when they use the word "parenting".
Alison Gopnik