Andrea Bocelli Quotes

Go on daddy-daughter dates and father-and-sons' outings with your children. As a family, go on campouts and picnics, to ball games and recitals, to school programs, and so forth. Having Dad there makes all the difference.

The thought of being active in my kid's lives motivates me.

I was quite lucky: although my dad worked a lot, whenever he was free, he would play sports with me and my brother, and I can't wait to do that with my child.

Kids have a tendency to switch off if their parents are multitasking.

When you have kids, there's no such thing as quality time. There's just time. There's no, 'Ooh, his graduation's better than going to the mall.' It's all kind of equal. Changing her diaper and her winning a contest - it's all good.

Fourth, come home from work and take an active role with your family. Don't put work, friends, or sports ahead of listening to, playing with, and teaching your children.

I love every minute in the kitchen with my kids, even the mess (I've learned to embrace it!). I find that in the car on the way home from school, I often get one-word answers when I ask about their day. But when we're cooking, I get in-depth stories.

I was happy to spend time with my family, get to know my daughter, who was born during The West Wing. I missed her first words. I missed her first steps. I'd leave work before she woke up and got home after she was asleep and didn't really know her. So it was important for that reason to reintroduce myself to the family after all of that hard work.

I would love to sit at home all day and play with my kids. It's my favorite thing to do in my time off.

There's really no point in having children if you're not going to be home enough to father them.

I'm a pretty hands-on dad and make the most of my custody. I take care of my little one whenever I can, and she determines what I can do and where I can do it.

I have a child and I don't want to be at work all the time when he's small. I want to spend time with him.

I don't want to be an absent mother. Otherwise, why have children?

The most influential of all educational factors is the conversation in a child's home.

Dad played with me a great deal, as dads should do, and our chief sport was baseball. He bought me a hardball when I was three years old, and he used to sit in a rocker on the front porch while I sat on the grass in the yard, and we'd play catch by the hour.

I always appreciated my dad coming outside and playing with us - or my mom - and being a part of the game we were playing or refereeing it or just being outside. That was fun for us, and it was very encouraging.

But with two boys and a new puppy, we don't get out much. We're usually home doing stuff together as a family, like watching 'Modern Family.'

The advantage is I have my family with me all the time. When your daughter takes her first steps or says her first words and your son is going through potty training, I'm not missing any of those things.

If I'm working in the city, then as soon as I'm home, I try to lock in on my son for a few hours. Every day. I see how important it is that he's starting to come into my world now. It's just an effort to give him that male mode of being.

One thing I've been happy as peach pie about - because I'm all about the children and the happiness of a woman because that makes the happiness of the home - is that nannies, day cares and babysitters are all collapsing, which is forcing moms and dads to raise their children at home.

Involvement in my kids' sports teams is something I have made time for over the years. I've also been able to coach all three of them in baseball and basketball, something that has strengthened our bonds and given me indescribable joy. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I'm very lucky. I am one of those people who is able to go home, shut the front door and completely focus on the kids.

If I have children, after school they'll always feel happy energy in the home.

I believe that the first 8 years are most important and the time in a child's life when parents must be absolutely and completely present.

Books are such a great way to spend time with your children, open lines of communication with your children, and just build that strong foundation.