Leila Slimani Quotes

My brother and I had a lot of freedom growing up, and thankfully, we both turned out OK.

I never felt like I wanted to have kids until I could be home and be a daddy, and those are the things that I didn't have.

My own parents were very un-neurotic, so I never thought that I had to change enormously in order to become a parent.

It's never that hard for me to imagine what it must feel like to be someone else, whether it's an American teenage girl or a Japanese octogenarian man.

I was an adopted child of my grandparents, and I don't know how I can ever express my gratitude for that, because my parents would have been a mess, you know.

My parents were perfectly open-minded about everything. They never tried to convince us of what was true or what wasn't true in their minds. We were just presented with the information that was around and pretty much allowed - though, I mean, we knew how they felt. We knew they didn't go to church. So obviously that had an effect.

My parents were very, very good about not separating us as kids from their adult friends. So on any given night, we'd have, like, this kind of freak show - artists and art dealers coming over. And these are the people I feel like I learned from.

I was the happiest kid ever, but I did choose to live around adults and today, now that I have a kid, I don't know if I would let him do it.

While I have always had a good relationship with my father, much of the time it has been a very limited relationship until I was older. So you can't really give him credit or blame for how I turned out.

Each day the thought crosses my mind that when they get older, my kids are going to look back and think about how they were raised. I know they will have a lot of questions about things that may not make sense because they were raised so unconventionally.

One summer I was made housekeeper to my own family, making menus and shopping lists. It was my mother's idea of teaching me to be a grown-up. The main thing I remember is my father being so delighted to get roast duck.

We have really good parents, and even though they broke up when we were little, we were still raised by two people who had really good ethics. They were never going to let us turn into Paris Hilton. I think that it wasn't really an option to become spoiled brats.

I had that extroverted energy, and I always involved myself in quite adult conversations. My mum never hid us from that. There was never a kids' table; we were never treated as kids, per se, because I don't think she believes in that.

I'm actually a mummy's boy.

I have always believed that the way my parents disciplined me has a great deal to do with the success I have enjoyed as a man.

Between the two [parents], it was a really unique upbringing, I think, especially for where I was from.

I was not one of those children hanging on Ma's coat-tails following her round sets. I'd go to the theatre after school if she was working, but I didn't even know what an agent was.

My stepfather was an exemplary human being. It took me a lot of time to accept him as a parent. But what he did intelligently was he befriended me.

I got kids now... It gives you an empathetic feeling into other cultures and stuff.

My parents have always been very honest with me.

The upbringing my parents gave me has got me through the ups and downs in my life. My parents always believed that children need to be compassionate and caring human beings above anything. I wish and hope the same for my son Ranveer.

When people ask what it's like to be an only child, I say it depends on who your parents are. I was lucky.

I lived with my mom my whole life; her work ethic was ridiculous, and it hasn't changed.

My old man never used to cook, so we lived on takeaway. The others were always jealous.

Whatever your age, parents generally embarrass their children. I think that's a role we have to play.