gistfile1.txt

kids1 = as.array(c("Bob", "Joe"))
kids2 = as.array(c("Steve", "Beth", "Kim"))

setClass("person", representation(name="character", age="numeric", children = "list"))

setMethod(
  f = "[",
  signature="person",
  definition=function(x,i,j,...,drop=TRUE){ 
    initialize(x, name=x@name[i], age = x@age[i], children = list(x@children[i]))
  }
)

people = new("person", name=c("John", "Fred"), age=c(40, 20), children = list(kids1, kids2))

people[1]@name
people[1]@age
people[1]@children

people[2]@name
people[2]@age
people[2]@children