hand that rocks the cradle, the

proverb Mothers ultimately have the greatest power in the world because they influence the way their children develop and the things they do when they grow up. It's important that we offer mothers every support we can. After all, the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.

A mother is a powerful influence, a thought derived from this phrase’s completion: “is the hand that rules the world.” It comes from a poem by William Ross Wallace, “The Hand that Rules the World” (1865), and has been quoted ever since. A British schoolmistress’s change on it makes for a humorous mixed metaphor: “The hand that rocks the cradle kicked the bucket.” A more sinister interpretation is given in the 1992 motion picture The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, about a demented nanny seeking revenge for the death of her husband.