David Sheff Quotes

As I started parenting, I realised there is no formula to it.

The parenting bit is much harder than the acting bit. You just never know what to do.

In parenting, as in judging, the days are long, but the years are short.

My greatest sense of accomplishment has come from having two amazing sons, but it's also a paradox in that the times when I felt like the biggest failure have been times when I felt like, as a parent, I wasn't making the right decisions or succeeding in the way that I should.

I think it is important to say that though, of course, it is wonderful to have children, it is a disservice to others not to also say how hard it is to do it alone.

The thing about parenting rules is there aren't any. That's what makes it so difficult.

You know, parenting is so personal. And we're all afraid that we didn't quite get it right. And it feels like the stakes are so high. By we - what if we made a mistake?

I came to parenting the way most of us do - knowing nothing and trying to learn everything.

I want to speak directly to the audience, to say, 'I'm like you - I'm frustrated, I'm not an expert, I don't have a manual on parenting, I make mistakes, I'm selfish too.'

You can't be the enfant terrible when you have the enfant at home.

Everything that happens to me in a day enhances my parenting.

With parenting, like any other skill in life, practice makes perfect.

You have to figure out what works for you as a parent, and it's hard to do everything all at once.

I'm no parenting guru. I suppose you just take everyday as it comes and do what you think is best.

I was not an ideal parent, and there were things that I did right and things I did wrong.

There's no encyclopedia or book about parenthood. You learn on the fly.

I think being a parent is the most challenging thing you do. That's why we're here. It's at the heart of what it is to be a human being. It's the ultimate experience because it questions everything about who you are. But it's difficult.

My children forgave me at a time when I could barely forgive myself.

When I was young, I thought I wouldn't be a good mother. Now I think I would be, but I'm too long in the tooth.

Our need for certainty in an endeavor as uncertain as raising children makes explicit 'how-to-parent' strategies both seductive and dangerous.

I don't think anyone masters parenthood.

I have no regrets about not having children. I still wait for the pang of guilt, but I have none. I tune into the television show 'Nanny 911' occasionally which reminds me how much patience and love it take to be a good parent.

No matter how much time you spend reading books or following your intuition, you're gonna screw it up. Fifty times. You can't do parenting right.

Does any new parent, even if you're not a first-time parent, ever really know what to do?

I love to read books that focus on parenting topics because there are so many different ways to do things. I find these books offer a lot of great opinions on many different subjects.