Tina Fey’s Daughter Collecting Credits on 30 Rock

Jemal Countess/Getty

Tina Fey might be a big time comedienne (with the Emmys to prove it!) but it turns out that her 5½-year-old daughter Alice isn’t quite convinced.

“I think she thinks Daddy’s funny,” Fey told PEOPLE at The Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center‘s Bunny Hop, held Tuesday at FAO Schwarz in New York City.

“She’s very funny,” Fey, 40, added. Even though Alice hasn’t yet learned to read, she’s credited on 30 Rock as the creator of the show’s quip “I want to go to there,” and her other antics constantly keep Fey on her toes.

“Last night I called to check on her and she was just chanting, ‘Apple juice! Apple juice! Apple juice!’ Over again until she got some apple juice,” she laughed.

Even though Fey seems to be balancing her career and motherhood, she’s the first to admit that having a child changed her.

“When you’re single you’re like, ‘Let’s work till 10 p.m.!’ You don’t care,” she notes. “Once you have a kid you’re like, ‘Oh yeah. If I’m exhausted because my kid was up all night from a cold so are 10 other people.’ It makes you more sympathetic.”

— Mussarat Bata

Comments

Devan Noblit on March 11th, 2011

I hope Alice becomes a comedian, she seams HILARIOUS ! ! ! !

Becca on March 12th, 2011

Alice is 5 and half and she hasn’t learned to read yet? Um wow Tina, take a break from working and teach your kid to read…

Laura on March 12th, 2011

Becca, not all children learn to read at the same rate. Alice is probably in kindergarten and learning letters and maybe some words. But she might not be able to necessarily just sit down and read an actual book yet. Doesn’t mean she isn’t in the process of learning. And who knows? Maybe she has a learning disability that will mean she learns to read even slower. That does NOT mean that Tina isn’t supporting her daughter well enough. And I want to point out that Alice was born in September so she might very well not even be in kindergarten yet. Where I live, children have to be 5 by September 1st to be enrolled in kindergarten. If she hasn’t even started kindergarten that I definitely wouldn’t assume she should be able to read yet.

Amy on March 12th, 2011

Where does it say she can’t read?

Julia on March 12th, 2011

I first learned to read (really read, not just some words) when I was six. Never had a problem of any kind, was a good pupil and now I study English Literature. So there shouldn’t be a problem of any kind for Alice…

Alma on March 12th, 2011

My mother start teaching me to read when I was 5 and when I started going to school at 6 most of the children in my class didn’t know how to read.
So I don’t see anything wrong with that Alica can’t read.

showbizmom on March 12th, 2011

That was so rude, Becca! Everyone learns a their own pace. You can’t judge a parent just because their kid isn’t reading when you think they should be. Hell I hardly talked till I was about six. Look at me now, you can’t shut me up!

Meanwhile, I probably use,”I want to go to there” more then I should….

Winnie on March 12th, 2011

My cousin is 5 and he can read simple words like ‘and’ and knows him name and stuff but he can’t read fluently, so maybe her kid can read, maybe she just meant not fluently lol

allison on March 12th, 2011

Becca, at 5 1/2 not all children know how to read. However, let’s get to the real issue here, as an adult woman you don’t know how to write using correct grammar? It’s not 5 and half. It’s five and a half. The kid is 5 but what’s your excuse?

Jillian on March 12th, 2011

Laura, love your post!
My sis teaches kindergarten and it is normally for some children finishing kinder to not know how to read.

MiB on March 13th, 2011

Neither me nor my brother could read until the end of first grade and neither could most of our friends. My brother didn’t even like reading until his late teens whereas I was a book worm, today we are both voracious readers (to a point where it has become a joke that we communicate by book recommendations). Not being able to read at 5½ is not really a big cause for concern unless there is a suspicion of learning disabilities or early signs of dyslexia.

Alice on March 13th, 2011

I thought kids all learned to read (properly, not just letters) at school at six years old. Of course some can learn earlier – I did at four – but but a five-year-old not reading seems perfectly standard and fine to me.

Jacqui on March 13th, 2011

It’s pretty normal not to read until first grade.

Alice sounds pretty cute. But really, every kid is hilarious. I’ve never met a child who wasn’t funny!

Nella on March 13th, 2011

Alice sounds adorable! I bet Tina is an awesome mom! Most kids learn to read in first grade, there’s nothing abnormal about Alice not knowing to read yet, she will learn.

Kelly on March 15th, 2011

We are so obsessed with milestones and achievements that we often overlook a child’s true potential. Little children learn at their own pace and in that process, they develop a sense of self worth and confidence. Aren’t those the qualities we want to foster at this age? Believe me, children have a long road of scholastic pressure ahead of them. Let Alice enjoy being a 5 year old and leave it at that.