Timothy Simons Quotes

It is the uninvolved parent who has to resort to strictness.

When Courtney's mother and I first separated I tried to be Disney Dad, showering her with gifts, trips and then I snapped out of it. You don't have to try to impress your kids. If they're not getting what they need from you, they will let you know.

There is a trend in child-rearing that I find abhorrent: "Whatever the kids want to do is fine." For me, the classic example of this is when someone has a visitor and says, "Go kiss Aunt Gertrude," and Aunt Gertrude says, "She doesn't have to kiss me if she doesn't want to." Well, I think that's wrong.

But I think that parents who criticise their children too much are in fact better than parents who praise their children too much.

Discipline should amplify creativity rather than stifle it.

I think the biggest problem is parents are so concerned with being friends with their kids. You're not their friend. You're their parent.

If from infancy you treat children as gods, they are liable in adulthood to act as devils.

I actually think leaving your children alone to fantasize, to write, to make projects on their own is good for them. Breathing down their necks is a form of control. Children should have their own space.

When I was nine, I asked my Dad, ‘Can I have your movie camera? That old, wind-up 8-millimeter movie camera that’s in your drawer?’ And he goes, ‘Sure, take it.’ And I took it, and I started making movies with it, and I started being as creative as I could, and never once in my life did my parents ever say, ’ What you’re doing is a waste of time.’ Never….. I know there are kids out there that don’t have that support system. So, if you’re out there and you’re listening, listen to me: If you wanna be creative, get out there and do it. It’s not a waste of time.

If you have kids and stuff what kind of dad do I wanna be for my kids, and what kind of mom do I want them to have

I had these cheap alien toys and I made up stories for them. They were space pirates. They didn’t have names so I made up names. These were the first stories I wrote. Even as a little kid I was thinking about torture.

I try never to say no when it comes to creativity, but I do try and lead down an "appropriate road" - like not on furniture or the walls.

When it comes to raising children, I believe in give and take. I give orders and they take 'em.

All kids, I think, are creative, but they get it pounded out of them in school.

Anyone who has brought up children knows that consistency has absolutely nothing to do with discipline.

I think the main thing is trying to be fair, sometimes there has to be a little bit of discipline, maybe even punishment involved in trying to make your child understand, learn from bad experiences and make sure they don't happen again.

I think kids need to be allowed to be more creative and learn more about artists these days, so I'm all about that.

Re raising kids: Love, without discipline, isn't.

I think the thing that I lost in myself when I stopped writing fiction and the thing that I rediscovered and started mining again is, for lack of a better word, magic. It's the way you can brush up against the inexplicable and the mystical.

Sure, it's simple, writing for kids... Just as simple as bringing them up.

Creativity is absolutely for everyone. I firmly believe this. I think if you're the driest accountant with the plastic pocket pen protector it's in how you interact with the world. There is artistry in everything that we do and there is expression in everything that we do.

People seem to think that they can't come up with ideas, and they're wrong. They can and they do, but they just think of it as daydreaming, or wasting time. Kids get told not to make things up, and in my case, nobody told me long enough, or it just didn't stick.

If I have a weakness, it's that I try to live by the rules. I try to live by the rules, no matter what they are, and I was brought up that way as a kid. Play by the rules.

Most parents have college funds and things. I don't. I call myself the "hood daddy." I got their money in cash, stashed up. I don't have plans for my kids. I just want them to be happy.

I think of writers as explorers, not necessarily as detectives. So there is certainly detecting that is going on - they're explorers.