While I believed deeply in my husband’s vision for this country… and I was certain he would make an extraordinary President… like any mother, I was worried about what it would mean for our girls if he got that chance. How would we keep them grounded under the glare of the national spotlight?

A mother defends herself with a heart filled with love before doing so with words. I wonder whether there is any love for the church in the hearts of those who pay so much attention to the scandals.

The uncertainty of parenting can bring up feelings in us that range from frustration to terror.

People have told me, ‚You shouldn’t bring your daughter onto the podium, ‚cause it’s the workplace,‘ and things like that. But I’m not gonna really listen to that. I’m gonna do what I think is fun for me and my family, and everything’ll be all right.

Those who educate children well are more to be honored than they who produce them; for these only gave them life, those the art of living well.

Give a little love to a child, and you get a great deal back.

The place of the father in the modern suburban family is a very small one, particularly if he plays golf.

He that raises a large family does, indeed, while he lives to observe them, stand a broader mark for sorrow; but then he stands a broader mark for pleasure too.

I had a C-section, and I found it fascinating. I didn’t find it a sacrifice, and I didn’t find it a painful experience. I found it a fascinating miracle of what a body can do.

Once you have six children, you’re committed.

A child cannot be taught by anyone who despises him, and a child cannot afford to be fooled.

Someday I want to have children and give them all the love I never had.

The joys of parents are secret, and so are their grieves and fears.

First and foremost, we need to be the adults we want our children to be. We should watch our own gossiping and anger. We should model the kindness we want to see.

At Columbia Law School, my professor of constitutional law and federal courts, Gerald Gunther, was determined to place me in a federal court clerkship, despite what was then viewed as a grave impediment: On graduation, I was the mother of a 4-year-old child.

I do not think that I am a natural born mother… If I ever wanted to mother anyone, it was my father.

If you must hold yourself up to your children as an object lesson, hold yourself up as a warning and not as an example.

Only God Himself fully appreciates the influence of a Christian mother in the molding of character in her children.

For an Ethiopian mother, if you have a chubby kid, it means you’re doing something good.

I always wanted to be a father and thought it would be great, but it just took the right woman and the right time to make it all happen.

A two-year-old is kind of like having a blender, but you don’t have a top for it.

Feels good to try, but playing a father, I’m getting a little older. I see now that I’m taking it more serious and I do want that lifestyle.

I remember thinking quite logically that I didn’t want to spoil my children with wealth and so that I would create a foundation, but not knowing exactly what it would focus on.

It takes three to make a child.

Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.

The kids are a big part of my schedule.

I always tried to do things by example, even though I was not a very good mother regarding routines and family life.

When we talk about mortality, we are talking about our children.

Since the child knew his parents would give in, he tried the same trick again and again.

Because I am a mother, I am capable of being shocked: as I never was when I was not one.

When you’re around the kids, you feel like you act the most grown up just because you’re supposed to lead. I say things, like every other parent, that reminds you of your own parents. One thing I do know about being a parent, you understand why your father was in a bad mood a lot.

When I was four, my mother insisted I get out of the car and find my own way home. Although I got lost, I did find my way home. It taught me the value of independence at an early age.

I still learn, but I think it’s the best thing in life to have a kid.

The deep, personal material of the latter half of your life is your children. You can write about your parents when they’re gone, but your children are still going to be here, and you’re going to want them to come and visit you in the nursing home.

Yes, Mother. I can see you are flawed. You have not hidden it. That is your greatest gift to me.

I wasn’t going to shy away from getting married when I did and having a baby young and starting a family, even with the job that I chose.

I love to dance, but my children tell me I shouldn’t. Can’t see why.

What I tell my kids is, ‚I’m preparing you for college and for life. So, having independence, knowing how to set your own boundaries, figuring out how to make that balance. We still have screen-time rules.‘

As a father, safety is always a top of mind issue for me.

According to Ethiopian custom, parents wait to name a baby because children often die in the first weeks of life.

A child who is allowed to be disrespectful to his parents will not have true respect for anyone.

I want parents to teach that academic intelligence is essential, but so is financial intelligence.

My mother insisted that her children read.

Scoutcraft is a means through which the veriest hooligan can be brought to higher thought and to the elements of faith in God; and, coupled with the Scout’s obligation to do a good turn every day, it gives the base of Duty to God and to Neighbour on which the parent or pastor can build with greater ease the form of belief that is desired.

Clearly older women and especially older women who have led an active life or elder women who successfully maneuver through their own family life have so much to teach us about sharing, patience, and wisdom.

It is a wise father that knows his own child.

I go to sleep thinking about my kids being spoiled and I wake up thinking about it.

I know from having had a child, and from having been a child myself, that children will copy you.

Everything I do, I hope, is that I represent something, and I represent the right things to my children and give them the right sense of what they’re capable of and the world as it should be seen.

My mother was very strong. Once, she picked up a coconut and smashed it against my father’s head. It taught me about women defending themselves and not collapsing in a heap.

I feel like I’m the kind of guy that would have kids before getting married. The first thing would be kids.

To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.

Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a mother and child.

Sometimes, it’s just easier to say yes to that extra snack or dessert, because frankly, it is exhausting to keep saying no. It’s exhausting to plead with our kids to eat just one more bite of vegetables.

I always joke that my kids‘ favorite holiday is Father’s Day. They love the way I celebrate the occasion by writing each of them a thank-you letter and a generous check. It’s my way of letting them know how much I appreciate the great pleasure and privilege of being their dad.

I want kids. I want a soccer team, and I want a husband.

When a child is locked in the bathroom with water running and he says he’s doing nothing but the dog is barking, call 911.

To bring a healthy child into this world, raise them right and watch them grow is the biggest miracle there is.

You teach your daughters the diameters of the planets and wonder when you are done that they do not delight in your company.

The greatest thing in family life is to take a hint when a hint is intended-and not to take a hint when a hint isn’t intended.

People change because of kids. They change how they eat. They change the way they think. They change the way they see one another.