What is the most rewarding part of being a parent?

Originally asked

Vogue, to one guest at a time, on camera, 73 Questions

Vogue asked close variants of Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys, and Nicki Minaj between 2020 and 2023; the same prompt recurs independently in parenting interviews.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Recorded Scott Simon said elsewhere, not written here
My greatest joy as a father is to see our children growing up and growing independent, and becoming brilliant ... But also every now and then needing me for something and remembering where I can fit into the world. And one of the great joys you realize is that you need them ... You work for their smile. You work for their joy.

Geoff Bennett, PBS NewsHour, Father’s Day interview, 19 June 2022 source ↗

Others on this question

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Ethan Hawke Actor, director and novelist
I love being a father. I think there’s a great lie that we tell kids that pleasure creates happiness. Young people think: “Oh, if I get this, I’ll be happy.” But in a lot of ways it’s meeting your responsibilities that makes you happy. For me, I’ve just found that feeling like I’ve done a good job with the kids is a real source of happiness for me.
Recorded The Talks, 16 May 2012 source ↗
Vince Gill Musician, singer and songwriter
Boy, being a parent is a hard job, I think, because in parenting you want your kids to like you. Too much sometimes. It’s a hard line to find between doing what’s necessary to give them the tools to be good kids and make good decisions and all that, versus just completely not giving them a chance to accomplish anything because you do everything for them. I kind of feel like it’s okay if these kids go out and make a few mistakes, because they’re going to learn. The last ten years have been interesting, because I’m a stepparent to three kids, and I’m a father to two kids, an older and a younger. And it’s a real interesting dynamic.
Recorded Academy of Achievement, Academy of Achievement interview, Nashville, Tennessee, 1 April 2004 source ↗
Frances Arnold Chemical engineer; Nobel laureate in Chemistry, 2018
He says that he has the job of his dreams, which is the greatest joy that I can feel, is to have my child say he has the job of his dreams.
Recorded Academy of Achievement interview, Pasadena, California, 18 January 2019 source ↗
Barack Obama 44th President of the United States, 2009–2017; United States Senator from Illinois 2005–2008
My daughters are something, and they just surprise and enchant and impress me more and more every single day as they grow up. And so these days, when we talk, we talk as parent to child, but also we learn from them.
Recorded Christi Parsons, James S. Brady Press Briefing Room, the White House, The White House (Obama administration archive), 18 January 2017 source ↗

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