The-Conquest-of-Happiness-by-Bertrand-Russell

she is not unusually saintly, will expect from her
child compensations exceeding those she has a
right to expect. The mother who is conventionally
called self-sacrificing is, in a great majority of
cases, exceptionally selfish towards her children,
for, important as parenthood is an element in life, it
is not satisfying if it is treated as the whole of life,
and the unsatisfied parent is likely to be an
emotionally grasping parent. It is important,
therefore, quite as much in the interests of the
children as in those of the mother, that motherhood
should not cut her off from all other interests and
pursuits. If she has a real vocation for the care of
children and that amount of knowledge which will
enable her to care adequately for her own children,
her skill ought to be more widely used, and she
ought to be engaged professionally in the care of
some group of children which may be expected to
include her own. It is right that parents, provided
they fulfil the minimum requirements insisted upon
by the State, should have a say as to how their
children are cared for and by whom, so long as
they do not go outside the ranks of qualified