The day Obama got into office, rap was less important because Obama gave kids an alternative. But will rap ever go away? No. There will always be a need for poets.
I want to be in a stable relationship and have kids by the time I'm 30.
I'm 48 now and whatever I get music-wise, I get from my kids and that's it. I don't think I'll ever be hip again!
You're watching your kids playing football, and you're not present. It's like the worst... it's horrible. I despise myself for it. I think it's a particularly male thing. Being present and in the moment with your kids is something a lot of men struggle with.
I used to listen to 'Perfect Day' by Hoku every single day in high school! 'On this perfect day, nothin' standin' in my way... Don't you try to rain on my perfect day.' It pumped me up when I was feeling down or defeated, whether it was from the cool kids making me feel left out or feeling overwhelmed with homework and mean teachers.
I want the kids to know that it's not a myth that somebody from their city plays and wins in the NBA. I just want to influence them to work hard and do whatever they want to do in life, whether it's to be a basketball player or scientist... if they believe in themselves, they can do anything.
This healthy eating stuff, it's here to stay, and we now have everything we need to seize the opportunity and give all our kids the healthy futures they so richly deserve.
When it comes to women, there has been a tendency to define women in sports in the context of their relationships - they watch games because their husbands watch. They're interested because their kids play a sport. They buy tickets to a sporting event because it's a way to spend time with family.
If the parents are too busy to read, it's a safe bet the children will feel the same way. Set aside time for family reading each night. It doesn't matter so much what the kids read, as long as you provide them space for reading and a sense that it is a valuable part of your daily routine.
The strength of my mother is something I didn't pay attention to for so long. Here she was, this single mom, who was part of the Great Migration, who was part of a Jim Crow south, who said, 'I'm getting my kids out of here. I'm creating opportunities for these young people by any means necessary.'
It's really hard to figure out what they need to know. And that's parenting, in general. It's hard to figure out what would benefit your kids and what would just make them needlessly frightened.
I am the granddaughter of a Welsh coal miner who was determined that his kids get out of the mines. My dad got his first job when he was six years old, in a little village in Wales called Nantyffyllon, cleaning bottles at the Colliers Arms.
I don't want to be 50 years old and not know what's going on with my kids and my grandkids.
My iPod's unbelievable. Seriously. The kids have put most of the music on it, but there's a complete mix of '80s rubbish and current day stuff.
A lot of relationships have ended for me in my 20s, because I knew that eventually those people would wanna settle down and have kids.
I was kind of a bully, even though I'm tiny, 5' 2". As a child, I'd boss other kids around and dress my little brother up, just putting on shows, singing and dressing up.
I only read the very best music books. Donald Fagan's memoir 'Eminent Hipsters' is great. Bob Dylan's memoir 'Chronicles' and Patty Smith's 'Just Kids' are both incredible.
I just can't stand the fact that they're going out on their own - I love having my kids around, and I'm angry at them for going out and becoming independent. I want to tuck them in and drive them to school in the morning, but they just won't let me do that anymore.
It's easy to blame the nature-deficit disorder on the kids' or the parents' back, but they also need the help of urban planners, schools, libraries and other community agents to find nature that's accessible.
My kids aren't celebrities. They never made that bargain. We were offered a lot of money to sell pictures of our kids when they were born. You'll notice there aren't any. I make no judgment about people who decide differently; a lot of them give the money to charity. For me, it was a matter of principle.
I prefer a change of surroundings anyway, and I like to be around some energy and white noise, so I usually go to a Barnes & Noble cafe or to the library on 5th and 42nd. In the afternoons, I do research, reading, editing, and play with the kids.
As parents, we teach our kids about things we feel competent in. That's why so many parents don't teach their kids about money.
Schools are really, really important. It gives you access to every kid in the country. It gives you a massive pool of people to see who might be talented at different sports. It allows kids to try sports. Kids can be inspired all they want, but if they can't go out and try a sport, then it's no good.
I have three young kids and a great family. I love hanging out with them more than anything.
This is what I believe is most important: getting good books into the hands of kids - books that will make them want to say, 'Wow, that was great. Give me another one to read.'
Giving kids the chance to see live theatre should not just be free, it should be compulsory.
I'd never want to be Gene Simmons, an old man who puts on makeup to entertain kids, like a clown going to work.
When I started the Imagination Library in my hometown, I never dreamed that one day we would be helping Scottish kids.
I tell young people, including my own kids, don't do this, it's too difficult. It's a career full of rejection, disappointment and failure. It's murderously hard on the ego. Don't become an actor.
We have a nanny in the house, but there are always times when one of my kids does something bad or wrong, and they'll listen to me more than they do the nanny. So I think it's important to set up that boundary of respect for them at a young age, so they will know, 'I better listen to Mommy.'
I worked with Congress on legislation, gave speeches to CEOs, military generals and Hollywood executives. But I also worked to ensure that my efforts would resonate with kids and families - and that meant doing things in a creative and unconventional way. So, yeah, I planted a garden and hula-hooped on the White House lawn with kids.
I need to find the right guy and the right family. The day I find something worth my while, I will get married and have kids, too.
I think probably you can either write for kids, or you can't. That ability to imaginatively be a child and see the world as a child and feel and think like a child - you either have that ability or you don't.
Kids who don't have moms suffer a lifetime.
If you look at the whole thing, I think the most gratifying thing is my kids, without a doubt.
I always tell my kids make your vocation your vacation.
