I am endlessly fascinated that playing football is considered a training ground for leadership but raising children isn't. Hey it made me a better leader: you have to take a lot of people's needs into account you have to look down the road. Trying to negotiate getting a couple of kids to watch the same TV show requires serious diplomacy.
Some writers can only deal with childhood experience because it's complete. For another kind of writer life goes on and he's able to keep processing that as well.