the hand that rocks the cradle
the HAND that ROKS the KRAY-dul
ðə hænd ðæt rɒks ðə ˈkreɪdəlListen
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Dictionary meaning
the assertion that the person who raises and shapes the values of children, traditionally the mother, ultimately controls the future of society; derived from a poem by William Ross Wallace and used to argue for the immense social and political power embedded in domestic caregiving and early childhood formation; in political discourse it is used to highlight the influence of education, family upbringing, and socialisation on the long-term direction of culture and politics, and to argue that those who shape the next generation wield a deeper power than those who command armies or parliaments
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