11 Quotes That Prove Madonna Has Parenting Down

"This was an eye opening experience" and "a real low point in my life. I didn't know that trying to adopt a child was going to land me in another sh*t storm. I was accused of kidnapping, child trafficking, using my celebrity muscle to jump ahead in the line, bribing government officials, witchcraft, you name it. I could get my head around people giving me a hard time for simulating masturbation onstage or publishing my Sex book, even kissing Britney Spears at an awards show, but trying to save a child's life was not something I thought I would be punished for . . . In any case, I got through it. I survived."

— Harper's Bazaar, October 2013

"When I adopted Mercy James, I put my armor on. I tried to be more prepared. I braced myself. This time I was accused by a female Malawian judge that because I was divorced, I was an unfit mother. I fought the supreme court and I won. It took almost another year and many lawyers. I still got the sh*t kicked out of me, but it didn't hurt as much. And looking back, I do not regret one moment of the fight.”

— Harper's Bazaar, October 2013

"I watched it with all my kids, and they were all very mesmerised by it, and I think a little speechless afterward. My son David was the most vocal about it . . . He said, 'Wow, I want to make my hands bleed,' referring to a scene in which the drummer practises so hard and long that he's left with cuts from his drumsticks."

— The Guardian, March 2015

"I cried every night for weeks. I would go in her bedroom and lay on her bed and cry. It was terrible."

— Extra, March 2015

"I love taking all of my kids there. They walk into hospitals, and tell jokes and stories, and embrace children who are in some pretty extreme states health-wise. And they're not afraid. And I love that. And I love to see them behaving in a generous way towards human beings, you know, outside of their world."

— Today, March 2015

"I'm not a fan of taking drugs, but I'm not gonna tell my daughter not to do things. I'm just telling her to be careful. [I tell her] never take a drink that you haven't seen somebody pour in front of you. Don't mix alcohol. Your basics, like be safe, do everything in moderation. That's it. That's all I can do."

— Access Hollywood, March 2015

"It's just a fact of life isn't it? Somehow, it's gonna happen sometime. It happened to you, so it's gonna happen to [Lourdes]. All you can do is [stress] safe sex. Have discussions about it and encourage her to be open with you about it and not judgmental."

— Access Hollywood, March 2015

"At this point, Rocco doesn't care. It just goes over his head. He's like, 'Oh, mom. Mom's being mom.' The other little kids don't really — they're not tuned into that frequency yet. And Lo is horrified by all of it. She just wants me to be her mom."

— Today, March 2015

"The more kids you have, the more responsibilities you have, the more you have to really be aware of time, time management, and juggling lots of balls in the air, and thinking, 'Oh, my God, this is how am I gonna do this? How am I gonna promote my record and show up at my daughter's show?’ You know what I mean? It's a tug of war."

— Today, March 2015

"[I] wasn't very happy, but honestly, I don't think I'm as tough as I should be. I think I need to be maybe tougher. It's hard — every day is a negotiation. But cigarette smoking I'm not very fond of — for anyone."

— Today, April 2012

"I try to teach them to think outside the box. To be daring. To choose to do things because they are the right thing to do, not because everybody else is doing them."

— Harper's Bazaar, October 2013