EIGHT OF THE BEST MOTHER'S DAY

It's Mother's Day in Australia pretty soon - and what better way to mark the occasion than with poignant remarks from famous actresses who are also mums? Here we go, starting with Australia's very own Nicole Kidman.

 "My instinct is to protect my children from pain. But adversity is often the thing that gives us character and backbone. It's always been a struggle for me to back off and let my children go through difficult experiences."

"It means a lot to me to have two kids who support my ambition to change perceptions of women. As moms, we have a unique opportunity to keep changing this attitude that ambition is an ugly quality in women."

"You're going to get advice from a lot of people and you can take bits and pieces, but you know innately what your child needs. You should trust that. Don't beat yourself up for making decisions about things that may or may not work. It's an experiment in life and you're a part of that."

"When Valentina was not even one month old, my aunt gave me the best advice: 'Put her to sleep yourself every night. Sing to her and cradle her in your arms and sit by her side -- every night. Because one day you won't be able to, and it's going to happen really fast."

"I've never met a 2-year-old who is terrible. I'm so cool with every stage my daughter goes through. I just think she's amazing. I hope she's not looking at me thinking, Mom, is the terrible 30s coming on with you?"

"Trust me when I tell you I'm on my girls. And every time I am, I know from the outside it looks like I'm an overbearing, controlling parent. But I don't think we are responsible to anybody but our kids and ourselves."

"I want [my kids] to know work is really fun for me -- 'Hey, look what I get to do!' As opposed to feeling like, oh, I'm a terrible mother. Because that really just doesn't get you anywhere. It doesn't get them anywhere."

"I got pregnant, and I was like, 'Oh God, it worked! Oh no!' Chris [Ivery, my husband] and I were super happy, then I got terrified! Will I know how to do everything right? Of course, nobody does everything right, but as long as your baby is the priority, that's the best you can do."