I'm still very connected to my family to the world I grew up in. I understand what it means to be afraid that you can't pay a doctor's bill. Or to have to make the choice between buying a band uniform for a seventh-grader and making the insurance payment on time. That will never leave me. It was how I lived until I was well into my adult years.

I grew up in a family that was multifaceted sexually oriented and pretty much open to everything. And because I was working my friends were all adults. I had a tough time going to different schools because people knew me from films and I was the fat child who got beaten up every day.

Every child should have a caring adult in their lives. And that's not always a biological parent or family member. It may be a friend or neighbor. Often times it is a teacher.

I grew up in a very religious family and it is the motivating force to every thing I do. I am fortunate to have had adults all around me who really lived their faith in helping other people and doing the best you can do.

An Adult faith does not follow the waves of fashion and the latest novelties.

I must take issue with the term 'a mere child ' for it has been my invariable experience that the company of a mere child is infinitely preferable to that of a mere adult.

I feel like in America we don't have a kid problem. You think about all these issues that these kids are dealing with we have an adult problem. We have adults that do not place the priority on our kids to get a valuable education.

My hope was that organizations would start including this range of skills in their training programs - in other words offer an adult education in social and emotional intelligence.

Reforming public education cutting property taxes fixing adult and child protective services and funding our budget can all occur when Democrats and Republicans engage in consensus and cooperation - not cynicism and combat.

They were using the dolls to project their dreams of their own futures as adult women.