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The psychological pain--and the ethical shame--of American poverty are made greater by the fact that this country possesses the wealth and the energy to raise all children to a minimally decent standard of living.
Kenneth Keniston
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Kenneth Keniston
Age: 90 †
Born: 1930
Born: January 6
Died: 2020
Died: February 14
Psychologist
Social Scientist
Writer
Chicago
Illinois
Energy
Standards
Possesses
Facts
Poverty
Ethical
Country
Wealth
Standard
Children
Greater
Decent
Made
American
Psychological
Fact
Raise
Pain
Raises
Living
Shame
Minimally
More quotes by Kenneth Keniston
In the past the intrinsic pleasures of parenthood for most American families were increased by the extrinsic economic return thatchildren brought. Today, parents have children despite their economic cost. This is a major, indeed a revolutionary, change.
Kenneth Keniston
Parents still have primary responsibility for raising children, but they must have the power to do so in ways consistent with their children's needs and their own values.... We must address ourselves less to the criticism and reform of parents themselves than to the criticism and reform of the institutions that sap their self-esteem and power.
Kenneth Keniston
In brief, we have no explicit family policy but instead have a haphazard patchwork of institutions and programs designed mostly under crisis conditions, whether the crisis is national in scope (such as a recession ) or personal (such as a break-up of a particular family).
Kenneth Keniston