If you’re bringing up kids, you just want to smother them with love and praise and enthusiasm. So I don’t think you can mollycoddle your kids too much really.

Branson frames parenting as an arena where abundant affection is not a weakness but a deliberate investment. By pairing “love and praise and enthusiasm,” he emphasizes emotional security and positive reinforcement as formative forces, pushing back against the idea that too much tenderness “spoils” children. The provocative claim that you can’t “mollycoddle…too much” suggests that what looks like overindulgence, when it is primarily warmth and encouragement rather than permissiveness, helps children develop confidence, resilience, and a sense of being valued. The quote also reflects a broader Branson theme: people thrive when they feel supported—an outlook he often extends from family life to leadership and workplace culture.