Ayelet Waldman Quotes

I always feel like the odd mom out, because trust me when I tell you I'm on my girls. And every time I am, I know from the outside it looks like I'm an overbearing, controlling parent. But I don't think we have any responsibility to anybody else but our kids and ourselves.

Food, love, career, and mothers, the four major guilt groups.

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

I take parenting incredibly seriously. I want to be there for my kids and help them navigate the world, and develop skills, emotional intelligence, to enjoy life, and I'm lucky to be able to do that and have two healthy, normal boys.

My only reason why I am not doing films is my children. My children need my attention, and it's my duty to give them my time. I have not given birth to them to just dump them and go off to work. I am not that kind of a person.

Motherhood has been an exercise in guilt.

Many working mothers feel guilty about not being at home. And when they are there, they wish it could be perfect. This pressure to make every minute happy puts working parents in a bind when it comes to setting limits and modifying behavior.

Motherhood is like a big sleeping bag of guilt.

I, as a mom, wanted to be really present for my son in the first couple of years, because I know that those years are very important for a kid. So I decided not to work during that period.

Like every mother, I also want Alia and Shaheen to be happy. Whatever they do, they should feel satisfied doing it. I'm not a paranoid mother who pushes them to settle down.

Sure, I could have lots of people who do the cooking, the driving, all that jazz - but I would be unhappy. I wouldn't want my children raised that way.

As an actress, our hours can be grueling, and like any mother that has a career or job, it is difficult. Balancing spending time with your child in the morning and after they come home from daycare/school before is the key.

I was not a classic mother. But my kids were never palmed off to boarding school. So, I didn't bake cookies. You can buy cookies, but you can't buy love.

Our standards for motherhood are so high that many of us harbor intense, secret guilt for every harsh word we speak to our children, every negative thought that enters our minds.

I think losing your mother at such a young age does end up shaping your life massively. Of course it does, and now I find myself trying to be there and give advice to other people who are in similar positions.

My children have very little interest in my work. The most important question they have for me is, 'What's for tea?'

I've never wanted my kid faced with the idea of, 'Who's the fat guy sitting in the living room? What the hell is he doing?' I figure I might as well go to work so he can say his dad works.

I spent a lot of time in boarding school. This is something I will never do to my kids. I think if you're having kids, then you have to take care of them; otherwise, what's the point? There are many things that parents say are good for the kids, but the truth is they say that because it is good for the parents.

I only know how to play bad mums because they're the best parts.

In modern life, we tend to forget family values because of the hectic schedule.

It's really easy to give in to, 'I want to raise my kids,' 'I want to be the best mom, so I have to give up my dreams.' I don't believe that. I think, if anything, being a living example to your children is beautiful.

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.

As a father, I've tried to encourage my children to have a broader and deeper emotional life than I've had. I want my sons to be able to express their feelings about things.

I'm doing everything in my power to be a great mother. I wish I could be with her throughout the day, because I'm always working, but I make sure that whether it's the morning or nighttime, I make it extra special.

Parents who press their children to succeed do so in hopes of preparing them for an adulthood of high achievement.