Sichot HaRan Chapter 59
Can copy this into an AI, or connect the whole library to your assistant. For deeper learning, you can directly use the original seforim, sites, and apps.
מְסֻגָּל יוֹתֵר לַבָּנִים: לִהְיוֹת רָחוֹק מֵהֶם. לִבְלִי לִהְיוֹת דָּבוּק בָּהֶם, לְשַׁעֲשֵׁעַ בָּהֶם בְּכָל פַּעַם. רַק לִבְלִי לְהִסְתַּכֵּל עֲלֵיהֶם כְּלָל.
Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom, trans. Aryeh Kaplan, Jerusalem. Breslov Research Institute, 1973
The best thing for children is to keep a proper distance from them, not playing with them all the time. It is best not to be overly attentive.⁸⁶
footnotes: ⁸⁶ This does not mean ignoring them. By “distancing” oneself, one remains a parent and not a “friend” of the child. Respect and awe of a parent remains, which makes it possible to raise that child as a responsible person.