Forbid that I should ever laugh at their mistakes,
or resort to shame or ridicule when they displease me.
May I never punish them for my own selfish satisfaction
or to show my power.

Let me not tempt my child to lie or steal.
And guide me hour by hour
that I may demonstrate by all I say and do
that honesty produces happiness.

Reduce, I pray, the meanness in me.
And when I am out of sorts,
help me, oh Lord, to hold my tongue.

May I ever be mindful that my children are children
and I should not expect of them the judgement of adults.
Let me not rob them of the opportunity to wait on themselves
and to make decisions.

Bless me with the bigness to grant them all their reasonable requests,
and the courage to deny them privileges I know will do them harm.

Make me fair and just and kind. And fit me, oh Lord,
to be loved and respected and imitated by my children.