At every step the child should be allowed to meet the real experience of life the thorns should never be plucked from his roses.

I had the experience last year of directing my first feature while I had a 1-year-old son and while I was also pregnant so I am now well aware of the difficulties women who are rearing children face when they're also trying to make headway in mainstream of film.

When a child comes in I believe that it's a 'multipersonhood ' and it knows it its consciousness knows it and it has a nuclei in the center of its consciousness that is the repository of all experience and all knowledge. And when you look in the eyes of your baby and you feel this sense that they are an old soul I believe indeed they are.

Parents it seems have an almost Olympian persistence when it comes to suggesting more secure and lucrative lines of work for their children who have the notion that writing is an actual profession. I say this from experience.

The character and history of each child may be a new and poetic experience to the parent if he will let it.

Motherhood has completely changed me. It's just about like the most completely humbling experience that I've ever had. I think that it puts you in your place because it really forces you to address the issues that you claim to believe in and if you can't stand up to those principles when you're raising a child forget it.

Parents of recovered children and I've met hundreds all share the same experience of doubters and deniers telling us our child must have never even had autism or that the recovery was simply nature's course. We all know better and frankly we're too busy helping other parents to really care.

You don't know what unconditional love is. You may say you do but if you don't have a child you don't know what that is. But when you experience it it is the most fulfilling ever.

Parents lend children their experience and a vicarious memory children endow their parents with a vicarious immortality.

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.