Virginia Madsen Quotes

I think parenting is very different now. We're totally governed by our children!

Our need for certainty in an endeavor as uncertain as raising children makes explicit 'how-to-parent' strategies both seductive and dangerous.

My sons are a hell of a lot easier to get through to than my daughter is. She seems to have my number. She can just run through the buttons.

There's no such thing as a teenager that listens to a single word their father says.

I may have managed to build a successful technology startup that had gone public by the time my three kids hit their 13th birthdays, but don't think that bought my wife and me any special respect from our teenagers.

That undeniable love for your child... that's something I totally get. And the bumps in the road, too. Like, any parent that thinks they have a perfect relationship with their child is a liar, or they're just not present.

I think the one thing this picture shows that's new is the psychological disproportion of the kids' demands on the parents. Parents are often at fault, but the kids have some work to do, too.

My dad's a very sensitive man, but as the archetypal rebellious teenager, I didn't realise that.

Right now, my daughter's just rolling her eyes at everything I do; I'm just an embarrassment.

Parents like the idea of kids, they just don't like their kids.

To all those mothers and fathers who are struggling with teen-agers, I say, just be patient: even though it looks like you can't do anything right for a number of years, parents become popular again when kids reach 20.

Parents have to understand: if your kid isn't you, don't blame the kid.

A parent can seem very kind and gentle, but as any child knows, as soon as that parent gets stressed, they can suddenly turn and get a bit angry.

It has been tough being a mother of two daughters without a co-parent because I think I was a child myself, as my mother was.

No matter how calmly you try to referee, parenting will eventually produce bizarre behavior, and I'm not talking about the kids. Their behavior is always normal.

I don't know anybody that has a teenage son or daughter who at some point hasn't been like, 'God, I hate them' just under their breath. It's not meant to be literal. It's funny.

My parents were pretty liberal, but they were still parents. I definitely had my teenage rebellion.

My daughter couldn't care less about me being famous. She finds it revolting and, like a lot of teenagers, is virtually allergic to me. That started at 12 and hasn't gone anywhere yet.

There's nothing unique about me as a parent. I am a parent. My kids are kids. We do the best we can do.

I grew up with both my parents around me at all times, but my kids are not knowing who I am half the time.

There are many tough conversations, but one of the most difficult is between a parent and an adolescent daughter, partly because as a parent we are almost always attempting to relate to someone who is no longer there.

Before I married, I had three theories about raising children and no children. Now, I have three children and no theories.

Come mothers and fathers throughout the land And don’t criticize what you don’t understand Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command

I'm not a tech-savvy parent. I communicate with my children via the old-media format called yelling.

Nobody's gonna be a perfect parent, you know? We're all doing the best we can.