Quotes About Parenting

I'm convinced that what kids need today are parents - not buddies. They need someone who will exercise mature judgment.

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.

Teenagers talk about the idea of having each other's 'full attention.' They grew up in a culture of distraction. They remember their parents were on cell phones when they were pushed on swings as toddlers. Now, their parents text at the dinner table and don't look up from their BlackBerry when they come for end-of-school day pickup.

The toddler craves independence, but he fears desertion.

Whenever I feel mom-guilt, or I feel pressure to be a better mom - to cook salmon on a bed of quinoa for my kids - I just think to myself, 'I... have... suffered... enough.' And then I feel fine about feeding my toddler a bag of chips for dinner.

It's perfectly possible to love your toddler but struggle to like them when times are hard.

I tried taking a year off when Pedro was a toddler because I really wanted to be around, but it wasn't good for any of us.

Worst part of being a writer: having to tell my toddler that I can't play with her because I'm working. Keep in mind that working consists of me at home with a laptop on my lap sitting on the couch. It doesn't look like working. I don't have a hammer or anything.

With a toddler, chilling out is hard to do.

Do I need fifty finger-painted pictures by my toddler, or is one enough to capture this time of life? Mementos work best when they're carefully chosen - and when they don't take up much room!

Previously, young children had to be shown by their parents how to use a mouse or a remote, and the connection between what they were doing with their hand and what was happening on the screen took some time to grasp. But with the iPad, the connection is obvious, even to toddlers.

Sometimes you leave the house for school, and you realize you're wearing the same thing as your toddler, which is embarrassing! I try to avoid it at all costs.

Just know, especially when they were infants and toddlers, the thought these two children depend on us for everything in their lives 24/7. That's a pretty incredible responsibility.

Being in a new city with a toddler can be a bit of a challenge.

No one likes to play grandfather, especially when you are a father of two toddlers in real life.

I have what's known as a 'spirited' child. Mia has run me ragged since she knew how to walk. She'd run across soccer fields as a toddler, never once looking back. I have learned how to navigate her strong nature while nurturing it as well. I raised her to think for herself. I raised her to question.

Pretty much every night of their lives, my 8-year-old sons have absorbed themselves entirely in books. As toddlers, they pointed out pictures, made conjectures; lately, we find them in their bunk beds embarked upon two-hour comic-reading benders.

When we were babies, mum had to dress one of us in one colour, like blue and green, and she'd put a little mark on our hand or toe... she definitely had to sort us out.

My father, Vittorio, was a big-time player in Italy, but we never talked about basketball. He never came to my games. He said he didn't want to step on my coaches' toes.

I believe there's a secret chemical that's turned loose when you have kids that says you've got to survive, you've got to be strong. That keeps you on your toes, besides all kinds of other things, when you have three little ones running around.

Obviously, you check tht she's safe, she's clean, got all the fingers and toes, like that's going to help them through life. It'll help them walk, but you can't pull them out and check their IQ or anything.

When my first daughter was born, my husband held her in his hands and said, 'My God, she's so beautiful.' I unwrapped the baby from her blankets. She was average size, with long thin fingers and a random assortment of toes. Her eyes were close set, and she had her father's hooked nose. It looked better on him.

We want to gently remind people that we don't have forever. In my work, I hear parents complain all the time that their children grow up so fast. But they don't take the time to sit down and talk to each other. The last bastion of getting together is around the table.

The times you have to get up in the middle of the night and hold one of your children because they're scared of the lightning. Or changing diapers. That togetherness far outweighs the times you don't get to sleep in.