Mr. Rogers Has a Community and a Neighborhood

We all watched him at least once when we were kids. Mr. Rogers is like the father we didn’t have or the uncle we wished we had. He was kind and he was funny. But more than that, he was honest, and kids knew he was honest about the things adults often lie to children about to ease pain or make it more palatable. He talked about things like death and divorce and other hard subjects.

There are so many comments he’s made over the decades he was on television, but I’ve picked out my favorites and want to share them with you.

1. We don’t always have the answers.

“I wonder what it is that makes one person push on in the face of difficulty and makes someone else crumble in helplessness.”

Fred Rogers said this quote in an interview that was later broadcast on a documentary about his life. I think it’s important that we acknowledge that we don’t understand everything. Life is mysterious and some of us will be stronger than others, and some of us will get hit with difficulties we never expected.

2. Mr. Rogers always seemed to know what children need.

“I'll tell you what children need. Children never someone to protect them from the ever ready world.”

Mr. Rogers knew children needed love and protection from the world that was looking to devour them. He frequently talked about consumerism and how the advertisers were ready to devour children for the sake of sales. I learned not to buy into the consumerism and that a puppet can be just as magical as a mechanical toy from the store. Daniel, the striped tiger, is proof of this.

3. Love is the primary need for a child, true love and all the things that go along with it.

“It's an invitation: Would you like to be loved?”

Who wouldn’t want to be loved? That’s what Mr. Rogers offered us, a little child found love flowing through the television set. He invited us to be loved and we accepted the invitation willing. I learned how to love others from watching Mr. Roger.

4. Mr. Rogers taught us how to be less scared.

“When I was a boy and I looked at something scary, my mom said, "Always look for the people who are trying to help. There will always be those trying to help."”

Look to those who are helping and they will be the ones to help you. It’s such a simple concept but it works. If you’re scared and don’t know what to do, look to those who are helping and you will find help.

These are all quotes from the Mr. Roger's television show. I particularly liked these three over the others for various reasons. I love how honest he was when it is hard to be honest. I always tried to be honest with my kids.

But my favorite quote is this one:

5. Mr. Rogers understood god for himself, but he never preached.

“People are god's hands to meet your needs.”

I'm not sure how I feel about god, but I can say this is as close to feeling about that I've ever heard—god leads you to the people who can meet your needs. In a way, people are god, helping you through the roughest times.

It makes perfect sense.

Fred Rogers was an ordained minister and yet he never preached. He was a living example of walking in his faith, and I can really respect that. Mr. Rogers taught me to be who I am, no matter what, and that I would be loved just for being exactly who I am.

And that’s a beautiful thing to learn if you can believe it. I struggle with this every day, but I learned from Mr. Rogers that I am worthy of love.