Mary Badham Quotes

One of the things about being a boy, especially growing up without a father, is you really don't have that role model to teach you how to do things.

There weren't really any visible men in my family when I was growing up, but of course there have been men in my life, wonderful men.

My father... gave me a positive connection with men because he is a gentleman.

If fathers aren't growing up, I would challenge them to want to be a father that is present in the home, so that their kids have that identity.

If I'm working in the city, then as soon as I'm home, I try to lock in on my son for a few hours. Every day. I see how important it is that he's starting to come into my world now. It's just an effort to give him that male mode of being.

It is very difficult when you grow up without a father because you don't have a man who can give you direction and discipline.

There are many important elements to being a parent. A lot of people don't have fathers but they might have someone in their life who's a good male influence and support. There's no cookie-cutter way of raising children and no family is the same, but the most important thing is that children are loved, supported and cared for, whether it's coming from a relative or a friend or a grandfather or a good school teacher. Anyone. Children just need good examples and mentoring to teach them and show them how to do things.

Fathers have a unique and irreplaceable role in the lives of children.

Whoever does not have a good father should procure one.

Most American children suffer too much mother and too little father.

We're good at taking care of little kids, and spend a lot of energy teaching them things like how to read. But when kids get as tall as their parents and can look them in the eyes, we tend to drop the ball - at a time they most need a loving consistent community of adults, be it parents, aunts, uncles, or others.

Children need models rather than critics.

As a parent I provide all I can, but I think in the best possible scenario you need to have a man.

It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father.

Almost 24 million children - one in three - are likely growing up without their father involved in their lives.

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

A boy needs a male figure, and the girls do, too. Somebody to discipline them and make them be a man.

I think some people really change when they become a dad. Like, I've changed in different ways. I - but, like, my comedy hasn't changed. And I've also seen people do that where you become this - you become a dad, and then all of a sudden, you're trying to be a role model.

People who knew Dad used to say at times I was brought up as the son Dad never had.

We have so many young men, especially, who are growing up without their dads. We have to fill that void. We have to do a better job helping young people see what it means to be a man, what it means to be a woman. And then, somehow, we have to put that family structure back together.

I think a father is important for everyone. If you don't have, then maybe not so much. In the world today, it's possible that you grow up with only one parent in the family.

We need to have our children look up to real role models.

Jim Swan was my father, but Reg Barnes was my dad.

Kids need a father around to make them whole. They need their mom.

It's important for girls to have a strong father figure in their lives.