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

If you’ve ever hauled a 28-pound two-year-old around New York, you’ll find that men fold at the knees a lot quicker than women.

Your children will see what you’re all about by what you live rather than what you say.

I think a father is important for everyone. If you don’t have, then maybe not so much. In the world today, it’s possible that you grow up with only one parent in the family.

I actually feel like women in my position, when we have all at our disposal to help us, shouldn’t complain when we consider all of the people who are really struggling and don’t have the means or support. Many people are single, raising children. That’s hard.

There was never a child so lovely but his mother was glad to get him to sleep.

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

I would say the most satisfying thing actually is watching my three children each pick up on their own interests and work many more hours per week than most people that have jobs at trying to intelligently give away that money in fields that they particularly care about.

When I am playing baseball, I give it all that I have on the ball field. When the ball game is over, I certainly don’t take it home. My little girl who is sitting out there wouldn’t know the difference between a third strike and a foul ball. We don’t talk about baseball at home.

I think about my own sons and my own daughters, and I’m sure that many parents are concerned about what their children are exposed to.

All my stepchildren carried the burden of my fame. Sometimes they would read terrible things about me, and I’d worry about whether it would hurt them. I would tell them: ‚Don’t hide these things from me. I’d rather you ask me these things straight out, and I’ll answer all your questions.‘

I always say I’m one of the toughest mama’s boys you’re ever gonna meet. And I say that to send a message to all the young thugs out there; that it’s nothing to be ashamed of to say you love your mother.

I would like to fly in space. Absolutely. That would be cool. I used to just do personally risky things, but now I’ve got kids and responsibilities, so I can’t be my own test pilot. That wouldn’t be a good idea. But I definitely want to fly as soon as it’s a sensible thing to do.

It wasn’t so long ago that I was a working mom myself. And I know that sometimes, much as we all hate to admit it, it’s just easier to park the kids in front of the TV for a few hours, so we can pay the bills or do the laundry or just have some peace and quiet for a change.

If I walked into the kitchen without washing my hands as a kid, I’d hear a loud ‚A-hem!‘ from my mother or grandmother. Now I count on other people to do the same.

I’m not an analyzer. I’ve got a son that analyzes everything and everybody. But I don’t analyze people.

Women have always been the strong ones of the world. The men are always seeking from women a little pillow to put their heads down on. They are always longing for the mother who held them as infants.

You send a boy to school in order to make friends – the right sort.

I like trying to get pregnant. I’m not so sure about childbirth.

Without Cambodia, I may never have become a mother. Part of my heart is and will always be in this country. And part of this country is always with me: Maddox.

A mother takes twenty years to make a man of her boy, and another woman makes a fool of him in twenty minutes.

My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it.

One of the things I realized is that if you do not take control over your time and your life, other people will gobble it up. If you don’t prioritize yourself, you constantly start falling lower and lower on your list, your kids fall lower and lower on your list.

There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other, wings.

Never fret for an only son, the idea of failure will never occur to him.

Each new generation born is in effect an invasion of civilization by little barbarians, who must be civilized before it is too late.

Now that I’m a parent, I understand why my father was in a bad mood a lot.

To rule children by force is the technique of Satan, not of the Savior.

Actually, I didn’t start sweating until I had children.

Perhaps the greatest social service that can be rendered by anybody to the country and to mankind is to bring up a family.

These days, children can text on their cell phone all night long, and no one else is seeing that phone. You don’t know who is calling that child.

It’s much worse to read criticism about your son than yourself.

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.

Our lifestyle was not in any way a negative. That was not the problem. That is and will remain one of the wonderful opportunities we are able to give our children.

My mother fought cancer for almost a decade and died at 56. She held out long enough to meet the first of her grandchildren and to hold them in her arms. But my other children will never have the chance to know her and experience how loving and gracious she was.

My mother loved children – she would have given anything if I had been one.

I was raised by strong women, and that DNA is in my daughter and wife.

My son’s full real name is Duncan Zowie Haywood. As a toddler, he was called by his second name Zowie. But it was such an identifiable name during the Seventies that if I called him loudly in public places, everyone would turn to stare, so I started calling him Joey to take the pressure off.

How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child!

You can never really live anyone else’s life, not even your child’s. The influence you exert is through your own life, and what you’ve become yourself.

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

Children are educated by what the grown-up is and not by his talk.

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

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

My biggest hobby is hanging out with my family and kids.

Don’t judge other people. For example, if you want God’s anointing to be on you for parenting, you need to be careful not to criticize other parents.

My parents taught me never to judge others based on whom they love, what color their skin is, or their religion.

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

It took Simone a long time to understand why people want Daddy’s autograph. I’d tell her, and my wife would tell her, too, ‚People see Daddy in the movies, and they are excited to meet him.‘ But she couldn’t really grasp it.

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

The training of children is a profession, where we must know how to waste time in order to save it.

The kids never listen to you, especially the youngest ones.

My husband’s a pediatrician, so he and I talk about parenting all the time. You can’t raise children who have more shame resilience than you do.

My kids always perceived the bathroom as a place where you wait it out until all the groceries are unloaded from the car.

Plumbers can be masters, the guy who did my patio is a master, some people are masters at raising really great children.

For me, often, there’s such a cloud of melancholia about knowing I’m going to have to leave my daughter on her own. I don’t know what age that is going to be, thank God. It just doubles me up in grief.

I know I’m talented, but I wasn’t put here to sing. I was put here to be a wife and a mom and look after my family. I love what I do, but it’s not where it begins and ends.

Being a kid’s not easy. You’re transforming and becoming a human being. At some point, you have everyone taking care of you, and then, all of a sudden, you’re out in the world.

You must be afraid, my son. That is how one becomes an honest citizen.

Being a child at home alone in the summer is a high-risk occupation. If you call your mother at work thirteen times an hour, she can hurt you.

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