Bob Greene Quotes

Sibling rivalry was, and still is to this day, rampant in my family. We were all competing for my parents' divided attention.

Small children and unruly people who are demanding attention.

I grew up as an only child.

I was the oldest of five children, each about a year apart, and my mother, bless her heart, had her hands full.

I was more like a middle child. My youngest brother was the baby, so he got all the attention that the baby gets. And my older brothers were getting into so much trouble that I was left in the middle, doing plays. I was up to no good, but my mother didn't know it!

We were a very funny family. Humour was the tool with which my brother and I tried to get attention. We were always trying to be the funniest.

An only child, I always wanted a large hug-house.

If you have many children, the first one is always different because you can only have one child who is the first. They have different natures and talents for you to love.

There was always sibling rivalry. Tennis, football, boxing, whatever - you always want to come out on top of big sis.

You'd be surprised at the things people will do in order to get their names or pictures in the paper.

I don't really know how accepted I am. Nothing ever matters to me apart from the people with negative opinions. That's literally it. That always drives me on to the next thing. It's funny, you just focus on them and then the next movie. That's the only thing you're thinking about when it comes out.

Bad language is a stage all children go through, and it dies with time when they learn they're not attracting attention with it.

I do not find illness an eminence, and I do not understand how people can use it to draw attention to themselves since the attention they draw is nearly always reluctantly given and unpleasantly carried out.

My theory has always been that everyone in show business is there because they were deprived of some attention as a child.

I don't understand how people learn to live in the world if they haven't had siblings. Everything I learned about negotiation, territoriality, coexistence, dislike, inbred differences and love despite knowledge I learned from my four younger siblings.

A child in its greed for love does not enjoy having to share the affection of its parents with its brothers and sisters; and it notices that the whole of their affection is lavished upon it once more whenever it arouses their anxiety by falling ill. It has now discovered a means of enticing out its parents' love and will make use of that means as soon as it has the necessary psychical material at its disposal for producing an illness.

It's unfair how the kids who are starving for attention tended to be so annoying that people had no inclination to give it to them.

How competitive am I? A healthy amount. I have four siblings. It was competitive just eating dinner, like, "Everyone, get what you want from the chicken." Plus competing for your parents' attention.

The good thing about being shy though as a child is that you become very observant because you're not really actively participating. You're sitting back watching everyone. I think that's really helped me as an actress because I'm good at observing people and then copying them for comic effect.

So please don't think I have a 'down' on the MVS people. I'm just pulling off their arms to beat other people over the head with.

I suppose actors crave attention of some kind or they have suffered some form of arrested development and are still living in a sort of child's fantasy existence at some level in their psyche.

Relations between parents and children and siblings and mates. This is not external. We can't separate them.

The neurotic always wishes people would let him alone - until they do.

Addicts sometimes have a penchant for becoming the center of attention at other people's celebrations.