Dennis Quaid knows firsthand that it can be hard growing up with divorced parents. However, as an adult it turned out that he would need to raise a son with ex-wife Meg Ryan.

Speaking to Parade magazine, the father of 20-year-old Jack and 4-year-old twins born during his current marriage, the 58-year-old actor says he’s happy today.

Dennis Quaid on fatherhood: 
“I love being a dad, and I’m good at it. Kids teach you about life, like how not to focus on yourself so much.”

On his parents’ divorce when he was a child:
“Yeah, I was 11 or 12. There were abandonment issues there, which I think I still have.”

On making his 2001 divorce from actress Meg Ryan easier on their son Jack:
“You don’t bad-mouth your ex or anything like that. The key is your kid knowing that both parents still love him and are there for him.”

On Hollywood marriages:
“It’s hard for two actors to be together. Take the traveling, for instance. It winds up being a long distance relationship, all the time, because one’s working here and one’s working there, or one’s staying at home and one’s off someplace else. Your partner has to live with the best and the worst part of you, and they’re affected by it.”

For more with Dennis Quaid check out the latest issue of Parade magazine!

photo: Dennis Quaid covers Parade