Parenthood Quotes

For a man, once you've sired your pups, you're done.

Grandmas can shed the yoke of responsibility, relax and enjoy their grandchildren in a way that was not possible when they were raising their own children. And they can glow in the realisation that here is their seed of life that will harvest generations to come.

Men will now get up and walk with the baby in the middle of the night, change its diapers, and give it a bottle, but in their heart of hearts they still think they shouldn't have to.

What is a child, monsieur, but the image of two beings, the fruit of two sentiments spontaneously blended?

How pleasant it is for a father to sit at his child's board. It is like an aged man reclining under the shadow of an oak which he has planted.

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

Ever since my children were born, the moment I looked at them I was crazy about them. Once I held them I was hooked. I am addicted to my children sir. I love them with all my heart and the idea of someone telling me I can't be with them, I can't see them everyday. Well, it's like someone saying I can't have air.

We've begun to long for the pitter-patter of little feet - so we bought a dog. Well, it's cheaper, and you get more feet.

It is nerve-wracking watching my kids' games.

I know I want to have children while my parents are still young enough to take care of them.

I didn't know what to do. How do you tell an eight-year-old boy his mother's going to die? I tried. In my own stumbling way I tried to prepare Jim for it. Nowadays, he lives in a world we don't understand too well, the actor's world. We don't see too much of him. But he's a good boy, my Jim. A good boy, and I'm very proud of him. Not easy to understand, no sir. He's not easy to understand. But he's all man, and he'll make his mark. Mind you, my boy will make his mark.

A family of ten children will be always called a fine family, where there are heads and arms and legs enough for the number.

Some of our children are our justifications and some are but our regrets

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.

Never try to get your kid to eat anything she doesn't already want to eat. Just eat interesting stuff in front of her while completely ignoring her. Never, ever suggest "try it." Never say those dreaded words "try it, it's good." Or worse, "It's good for you." That'll poison the well.

I kiss you and kiss you, With arms around my own, Ah, how shall I miss you, When, dear, you have grown.

I just sat all night looking at him, saying, 'Wow, it's incredible.' When Yoko woke up, I told her, 'He's fine,' and we cried.

When I was a young man, I didn't think about having a family. My wife and I were too poor to have babies. Then all of a sudden, one came along and scared the hell out of us because we had no money. Once the baby arrives, you make do somehow. You fall in love with the baby and life adjusts itself. You find you don't need as much money as you thought. When that happens, you can ask the questions that should have come before the baby.

I prefer peace. But if trouble must come, let it come in my time, so that my children can live in peace.

I became hysterical and frightened and begged for sedation. And that was just the first prenatal visit.

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

I'm just protecting my children and making sure I pull them in the right direction so they don't end up like me with having to go through all that hardship. They may not survive so it's all about putting them on the right track.

Think what cowards men would be if they had to bear children. Women are altogether a superior species.

The childless escape much misery.

I want to have young children although my mother and father are even now young sufficient to just take care of them.

We're in a tough situation because of teenage children, and then we have a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old, so my family and my responsibilities is sort of a juggle.

If men had to have babies, they would only ever have one each.

I love my boys so much I fear my heart will explode. I wonder if this love will crack open my chest and split me in half. It is scary, this love.

A painter was asked why, since he made such beautiful figures, which were but dead things, his children were so ugly; to which the painter replied that he made his pictures by day, and his children by night.

I love conversations with kids in the meet and greet lines — little people with little voices! I love babies. Someday I would love to be a parent, but I want that time to come when I’ve experienced so much of the world. My life will be devoted to making that child’s life as wonderful, beautiful, magical and perfect as it can possibly be. I want to wait until there is no ounce of me left that has anything self-centered to experience.

[On the birth of son William:] Thank goodness he hasn't got ears like his father.

The more we come in contact with animals and observe their behaviour, the more we love them, for we see how great is their care of the young.

Me? I see an old, broke-ass black guy taking care of a bunch of kids, living life, taking them to school, and all that stuff, who's asking himself: What the hell is this? But I wouldn't give it up for the world because I love my wife. I never expected to have a life like this. No chaos... no confusion... no lawsuits... no violence... no going to jail.

My daughter always behaved in restaurants. And if she didn't, she's going out. I mean, one of the parents is going to take her outside. Immediately.

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

I'm supposed to be a musical genius, but I can't work the car seat that well.

My dad was fiscally conservative, and I was influenced by that. He didn't believe in spending more than you had because it gets you into trouble.

I went to a bookstore to try to find a book. The bottom line is, it all comes by trial and error. It was scary and exciting at first you don't know what to expect. But once you look into your child's eyes, you forget about that.

My children give me a great sense of wonder. Just to see them develop into these extraordinary human beings.

I'll say - I have four kids! I married a woman when I was 24 years old. She was 13 years my senior. She had been married twice before. I adopted them. I was 24 and had a 17-year-old son instantly, an 11-year-old daughter, a 5-year-old, and a child on the way. So I had to learn how to become a parent very quickly.

Remember, you can lead a fifty-seven-year-old body to motherhood, but you can't make it stay awake.

Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They came through you but not from you and though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

Motherhood isn't just a series of contractions; it's a state of mind. From the moment we know life is inside us, we feel a responsibility to protect and defend that human being.

Everyone calls his son his son, whether he has talents or has not talents.

Babies on television never spit up on the Ultrasuede.

Dad," said Will, his voice very faint. "Are you a good person?" "To you and your mother, yes, I try. But no man's a hero to himself. I've lived with me a lifetime, Will. I know everything worth knowing about myself-" "And, adding it all up...?" "The sum? As they come and go, and I mostly sit very still and tight, yes, I'm all right.

Lucky is the man who has been successful with his children and not got ones who are notorious disasters.

Noble fathers have noble children.

Unresolved dissonances between the characters and dispositions of the parents continue to reverberate in the nature of the child and make up the history of its inner sufferings.

Most of all, I want to thank my father, up there, the man who when I said I wanted to be an actor, he said, 'Wonderful. Just have a back-up profession like welding.'

The Dear father Would with his daughter speak, commands her service; Are they inform'd of this?

Slowly he took out the clothes in which, ten years beforem Cosette had left Montfermeil; first the little dress, then the black scarf, then the great heavy child's shoes Cosette could still almost have worn, so small was her foot, then the vest of very thich fustian, then the knitted petticoat, the the apron with pockets, then the wool stockings.... Then his venerable white head fell on the bed, this old stoical heart broke, his face was swallowed up, so to speak, in Cosette's clothes, and anybody who had passed along the staircase at that moment would have heard irrepressible sobbing.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

Holding Frances in my arms is the best drug in the world.

I have a small child. Being a parent takes a lot of time. People always ask me, "What movies have you watched lately?" I tell them, "Finding 'Nemo' ... 'Shrek'.

I guess my whole life, as much as I might have wanted a child for the reason that everybody wants one, I always recognized that at no point until I was 50 was I old enough or up to the job. I thought, you know what, I not only really want a child, but at this point, finally in my life, I think I'm up to the job and I'm the type of person who could do the job well and I'm financially prepared to look after a child.

When you have a child, the world has a hostage.

His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork.

Having a child, that's always been my biggest fear. I want a child and I fear a child.

A child's cry touches a father's heart.