I was a bully in fifth and sixth grade. I wasn’t one of the bullies – I wasn’t strong or dominant enough to be one of the kids who bullied everyone in equal measure. I was a bully, in that I bullied a kid, whose name I won’t mention here. My bullying was selective and personal.
Whenever I feel mom-guilt, or I feel pressure to be a better mom – to cook salmon on a bed of quinoa for my kids – I just think to myself, ‘I… have… suffered… enough.’ And then I feel fine about feeding my toddler a bag of chips for dinner.
I’ve never been pregnant, so I just feel God didn’t mean for me to have kids so that everybody else’s children could be mine.
Our kids are growing up with more privilege than we had; that’s true for most of my friends in L.A. I don’t know any actor who grew up with any particular privilege, so everyone wrestles with this. And I think, a lot of times, it’s about being patient with your kids.
I think, for me, I’ve realized the responsibility of being a role model for young kids everywhere.
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.
My whole thing, my priority, is my family, my kids, and my wife. That’s my future. I don’t really care about what role is next.
There are so many beautiful things that are a part of the world, and I’ve always looked at life that way; I’ve always tried to put on a smile and a brave front, not just for my kids but in my own life and all the difficulties that I’ve gone through.
Evil walks among us, and God help us if we don’t harden our schools and protect our kids.
My mom got 11 kids. We struggled.
I cannot, will never, understand these couples who hate each other, who conduct open warfare in front of their children – the kind of people who have to drop the kids off at the end of the driveway in case they lay eyes on one another. At the very least, civility must reign.
Kids are wonderful, but I like mine barbecued.
Working with kids can be tricky because they can be pretty unpredictable.
We didn’t have practical model rockets in the ’50s. The ones we made were very dangerous and the kids that played with them didn’t have all their fingers, and sometimes were blind in one eye.
Madrid is a big and beautiful city with great parks where I like to walk. There are a lot of squares and museums, historic monuments. But I’m more a home guy; I feel most comfortable there with my wife and kids. We play, watch cartoons, like all families do.
I used to get stressed out all the time when I thought winning was important. I wanted to try to win and help my kids win. Once I figured out it wasn’t about winning or losing, it was about teaching these kids about being men, that’s when I started to relax.
I listened to my kids talk about me as a parent, and I learned about things they wished I’d done and said. And I wished that I had done more of those things.
‘Hannity’ had a a guy on that said, ‘I fathered 20 kids by 14 mothers.’ That is s cultural issue which has demeaned our society and has caused our society dearly in terms of imprisonment. Who’s going to be the fathers to those children? Who’s going to pay child support?
Just like food, you could think peanut butter is your favorite food for 5,000 years and then be like, ‘I actually like burgers better’, you know? I was just trying to say that kids and people in general don’t have to label themselves and say, ‘I’m straight’ or ‘I’m gay’ or ‘I’m whatever.’
Lunchtime and recess, that was a big part for me growing up. I think it’s important for kids to have that.
It’s funny, I get a little quieter with time. I don’t want to chase my tail and one day repeat myself and repeat myself and one day have kids going to college and not have memories that I should, because I was too busy doing my thing.
I love being around kids; they’re honest and refreshing, and I love teaching them new things.
Kids will remind you that, even though you’ve gone down a road 100 times, it’s brand new for them – and that’s healthy.
I want to get married again and have kids and even adopt.
You don’t have to label yourself, because it’s not set in stone. It’s so fluid, and there’s so much pressure on kids to label themselves and say, ‘This is what I am; this is what I like.’
I always said if it gets to a point where I really want a child, I would adopt; kids are amazing, so I’m getting the selfish stuff out of my system so when I have them I can say, ‘Go, run. I have plenty of money, go play.’
It’s not good enough for us to have generations of kids that… look forward to a better version of a cell phone with a video in it. They need to look forward to exploration.
I don’t watch a lot of TV anymore. A lot of it isn’t the kind of thing you can feel comfortable with watching with your kids. And I still feel that way even though, now, my kids are in their 30s.
As we mature and grow older we collect a lot of baggage, and a lot of that stuff you collect on life’s journey gets in the way of acting. My kids can imagine a character and transform in the blink of an eye. It’s so simple for kids, so complex for adults.
I’ve noticed with my own kids, it seems like they have so much more homework than I did.
I’m a believer in forgiveness. I have worked with people who have been in gangs and now dedicate their lives to helping inner city kids. I’ve run offender services with teachings of responsibility, empathy and understanding of the victims at their heart. I’ve seen people change.
The best thing we can do to save the planet is set a good example for our kids at home.
When I was 15, I started playing first class cricket and always dreamt of being a Test cricketer, wanted to do something for the country, married in 1995, have 2 kids it’s been great.
I’m not sure if they do this in the States, but in Korea, until high school, on your graduation diploma there’s a line that states your future goal. Kids write ‘president’ or ‘astronaut,’ or whatever. I always wrote ‘singer.’
You don’t have to sugar coat things for kids. If you make something for them with intelligence they will show that intelligence in ways that will sometimes shock you.
I love kids, but they are a tough audience.
My mom and dad gave their kids the greatest gift of all – the gift of unconditional love. They cared deeply about who we would be, and much less about what we would do.
My mother told me, ‘Son, nobody else but God knows.’ And that’s what I’m about – reaching out to the people, crying with them, giving them hope. Visiting the hospital, visiting the kids with cancer, visiting the adults, and stuff like that. That’s what I do.
Anonymous comments? You’re not in the arena, man. If you can’t say it to me in person in front of my kids, don’t say it.
I try to be a hard boiled sometimes. My kids see right through it. I’m acting. It’s always, ‘When I say you’ll be back at 11, that means 11, not 11.15. Do you hear me!?’ Then, ‘Yeah, Dad.’
We know from scientific studies that infants as young as six months old can distinguish right from wrong and have a preference for the good over the bad. I think it’s important to design our education and our schools around that insight, to bring out the best in our kids.
You can’t save kids just with vaccines.
I have good looking kids. Thank goodness my wife cheats on me.
I just want to show the world it’s never too late to get your diploma, and show kids they should stay in school and not wait until you’re old to get it.
Kids made fun of me because I was a slow learner, because I was hyperactive, because of a lot of things. Running gave me confidence.
I spent a lot of time star-gazing, writing, and learning languages when the other kids were doing cooler things in Detroit.
During the week, my days are consumed with school commitments, play-dates and work for Baby Buggy, a nonprofit I started, which collects kids’ gear for parents in need. So on weekends, I look forward to uninterrupted time with my family.
I used to love the Wu-Tang Clan. They took my school by storm, by which I mean the three kids in my year who listened to hip-hop. I skipped lectures to go and buy their second album, ‘Forever’, and then rushed home to listen to it.
I’m just an actor, and if I can leave something behind that my kids will be proud of, then that’s what I want. I don’t want my kids to be embarrassed by anything I’ve done.
When we were kids, our parents would let us play outside all day, and there was a horse-drawn milk wagon that could become anything in my mind, like a spaceship or something.
