Ama Ata Aidoo Quotes

Nobody is weirder than your own family, and I think teenagers feel that particularly acutely; the fact that you can walk five steps ahead of your parents and still be in the same family, but refuse to acknowledge it.

Do you remember when you were 10 or 11 years old and you really thought your folks were the best? They were completely omniscient and you took their word for everything. And then you got older and you went through this hideous age when suddenly they were the devil, they were bullies, and they didn't know anything.

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

All children alarm their parents, if only because you are forever expecting to encounter yourself.

You discover two things when you're a teenager. One, that your parents are not the idols that you thought they were when you were growing up, if you had nice parents. And two, that you have power over them, and you can upset them and confront them and attack them.

There must always be a struggle between a father and son, while one aims at power and the other at independence.

It was almost normal for people over thirty to be frightened of their own children

You can never empathize with your parents as a teenager. You just think they're just on another planet.

I think the deepest problem is between my parents and me. I just don't know if it will ever be the same.

My mother and I never got along, not even when I was a child.

My mother gets all mad at me if I stay in a hotel. I'm 31-years-old, and I don't want to sleep on a sleeping bag down in the basement. It's humiliating.

'East of Eden' is an important story for me. It's about a kid that's misunderstood and feels like he's not loved by his father. It's a very father-son kind of story, and it's not until the end that they sort of make up. I like that because every boy has trouble with his father, so it's very relatable.

I grew up to have my father's looks, my father's speech patterns, my father's posture, my father's opinions, and my mother's contempt for my father.

I normally sleep very well, but when I do have bad dreams, they always involve my children.

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.

Most children threaten at times to run away from home. This is the only thing that keeps some parents going.

Sending your child off to school for the first time in their life is terrifying.

Mothers and daughters have that rivalry thing.

Children begin by loving their parents; after a time they judge them; rarely, if ever, do they forgive them.

My daughter is in more competition with me. I never wanted to be bigger than my mother or to challenge her.

My daughter thinks my shows suck.

When I changed my degree to acting, I almost gave my parents heart attacks.

I certainly feel sad about the alienation from my son.

Nobody at fifteen wants anybody to see how goofy their parents are.