Deirdre O'Kane Quotes

To have kids and not be there every night is tough.

It is obvious that the role of the father as the central authority in the family has been considerably challenged in Western societies. Parental responsibilities, and I knowingly use the term responsibility instead of the term authority still used in the French Civil code, are nowadays shared equally between both parents.

I do not wish to share any parenting responsibilities with Michael because he is doing so well without me.

I take care of my kids every day. I drop them off at school and pick them up whenever my wife is too tired.

Moms are as versatile as dads.

It's so funny because as a parent you kind of just fall into your roles. Nate loves to change a diaper more than anybody should because he knows he's instantly solved something. I'm the one that's up all night and in the morning because I need barely any sleep.

My husband has spent more time with our children than I have. I don't think they're better or worse off.

Some men don't want to be responsible fathers. It's easier to say 'Let's just turn the kids over to the state.' Women end up bearing the entire load, raising kids alone without a husband to share the parenting.

All of these things we do without children, and suddenly we don't do them anymore, and it comes home to us in a real way, that it's very different to have the responsibility of a child.

Mothers - especially single mothers - are heroic in their efforts to raise our nation's children, but men must also take responsibility for their children and recognize the impact they have on their families' well-being.

After two kids, I hit the pillow and go straight to sleep.

Although my life is far from perfect, the irony is that in a divorced parent's custody schedule - with days on and days off - instead of like it was before, when I felt ragged and still oddly guilty all the time, now I feel guilty but not ragged.

The thing is, when you have a child with someone, like it or not, you're going to have to have a continuing relationship with them.

I'm a fun father, but not a good father. The hard decisions always went to my wife.

Women are brought up to believe you are going to be the better parent and you know what's best. I don't think that's necessarily true. As much as we have to ask men to step it up, we have to take a look at ourselves and be willing to give up some of that parental power.

As for the American child's classic problem - too much mother, too little father - that would be cured by an equalization of parental responsibility.

I don't want to raise a child by myself. I could do it. But I definitely don't want to. I want to be a mother who has the original father there.

We need to stop the erosion of parental authority.

That thing, 'You must stay together for the kids', is out of fashion but is right. It's not arguing parents that children don't like, it is having one parent.

It's going to take a certain man for me to ever get involved with, because he'll have to realize I don't have two children, I have three. Tommy is always going to always be a part of my life.

I was raising a child full time, sharing the responsibility with his mom. He lived with me half the time, so I chose not to go away and make certain movies.

Women will only have true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation.

All fatherhood is very important because single mothers shouldn't have to raise sons or daughters; they need that help.

I want to raise my own baby. I don't want my baby crying for some other strange lady, some nanny. I am not down with that.

Gerard and I pretty much share all parenting responsibilities, although I'm definitely the disciplinarian.