Positive parenting quotes to encourage moms and dads

Parenthood is wearisome and wonderful. It is exhausting and exhilarating. Sometimes on the bad days just knowing that you aren’t in it alone is encouraging. 

For that reason, I’ve put together a list of 45 inspirational parenting quotes to encourage and amuse you along your parenting journey.

You’ll find a mix of inspirational quotes, funny parenting quotes about real family life and even some good advice. 

Through my years as a mom, I’ve learned there is no such thing as perfect parenting. But, we can all work hard to be the best parent we can be.

At the end of the day, what matters most is our unconditional love for our children. The most powerful way we can raise a good kid is simply giving our kids much love and much time. 

Whether new parents or seasoned parents, we’re all in this together!

Inspirational parenting quotes

“Encourage and support your kids because children are apt to live up to what you believe of them.” — Lady Bird Johnson, former First Lady of the United States

“You’re on a long journey. You’ll have good days and bad. And sometimes they happen all in the same day. Don’t get bogged down by the bad moments. Know that it really is worth it and whatever phase you’re in really does end.” — Stacey A. Shannon, journalist and blogger in “60 Motherhood truths“

“Behind every young child who believes in himself is a parent who believed first.” — Matthew Jacobson, blogger

“Affirming words from moms and dads are like light switches. Speak a word of affirmation at the right moment in a child’s life and it’s like lighting up a whole roomful of possibilities.” — Gary Smalley, family therapist

“There’s no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one.” — Jill Churchill, author

“While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.” — Angela Schwindt, a mom and coach

“There are many ways to measure success; not the least of which is the way your child describes you when talking to a friend.” — Anonymous

“My children aren’t a burden or annoyance; they are my greatest masterpiece.” — Stacey A. Shannon, journalist and blogger in “Back to school blues“

“Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” — Proverbs 22:6 KJV

“Making the decision to have a child — it’s momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” — Elizabeth Stone, author

“A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society.” — Billy Graham, evangelist

“So often, children are punished for being human. They are not allowed to have grumpy moods, bad days, disrespectful tones, or bad attitudes. Yet, we adults have them all the time. None of us are perfect. We must stop holding our children to a higher standard of perfection than we can attain ourselves. ” — Rebecca Eanes, author and positive parenting advocate

“Great memories are often made in the small moments. The greatest gift you give your children is your time.” — Stacey A. Shannon, journalist and blogger

“There is no such thing as a perfect parent. So just be a real one.” — Sue Atkins, parenting coach

“As a mother, my job is to take care of the possible and trust God with the impossible.” — Ruth Bell Graham, author

“We’re all wondering if we’re messing up our kids or even being good parents. Moms everywhere doubt their abilities and choices. We worry if our kids are OK and fret over whether we’re spending time doing the right things with them. We are doing the best we can in the midst of the chaos and exhaustion.” — Stacey A. Shannon, journalist and blogger

“Your kids require you most of all to love them for who they are, not to spend your whole time trying to correct them.” — Bill Ayers, elementary education reformist

“The best way to make children good is to make them happy.” — Oscar Wilde, author

“We never know the love of the parent till we become parents ourselves.” — Henry Ward Beecher, minister

“Each day of our lives we make deposits into the memory banks of our children.” — Charles R. Swindoll, pastor

“Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work.” — C.S. Lewis, writer

“Childhood is fleeting, so let kids be kids and cherish the time you have together.” — Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S. President

“A Mother’s Promise”
“I will love you completely and fully no matter what you do.
I will work hard to make sure you get any help you need.
I will always be your soft place to land.
I will pray over and for you as long as there is breath in my body.
I will protect you to the very best of my ability.
I will be there to lift you up when life kicks you down.
I will be your biggest fan forever and always in everything you do.
I will fail and make mistakes, but I will always do my best.
I will forever be thankful and grateful that I get to be your mom.“
— Stacey A. Shannon, journalist and blogger

“Your children need your presence more than your presents.” — Jesse Jackson, civil rights activist 

“Our greatest national resource is the minds of our children.” — Walt Disney, cartoonist

“Giving birth is little more than a set of muscular contractions granting passage of a child. Then the mother is born.” ― Erma Bombeck, newspaper humor columnist

“The way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice.” ― Peggy O’Mara, journalist and publisher

“You will lose yourself for a while after the baby is born, but you’ll come back. Slowly, over time, you become more you again, yet different in a way you’re OK with.” ― Stacey A. Shannon, journalist and blogger in “60 Motherhood truths to inspire you and make you laugh“

“To be in your children’s memories tomorrow, you have to be in their lives today.” ― Barbara Johnson, literary critic

“The most important thing that parents can teach their children is how to get along without them.” ― Frank A. Clark, radio broadcaster and writer

Humorous parenting quotes

“Everyone should have kids. They are the greatest joy in the world. But they are also terrorists. You’ll realize this as soon as they’re born, and they start using sleep deprivation to break you.” — Ray Romano, actor and comedian

“I came to parenting the way most of us do — knowing nothing and trying to learn everything.” — Mayim Bialik, actress and neuroscientist

“You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance.” — Franklin P. Adams, columnist

“Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing.” — Phyllis Diller, actress and comedian

“Having a child is like getting a tattoo … on your face. You better be committed.” — Elizabeth Gilbert, journalist

“The thing about parenting rules is there aren’t any. That’s what makes it so difficult.” ― Ewan McGregor, actor

“Don’t worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.” — Robert Fulghum, author

Real family life parenting quotes

“Parenthood…It’s about guiding the next generation, and forgiving the last.” ― Peter Krause, in the American T.V. series “Parenthood”

“Motherhood is a constant learning process that requires flexibility and a sense of humor. And just when you think you have it all figured out, your children like to remind you that you certainly don’t.” — Stacey A. Shannon, journalist and blogger in “Motherhood requires a sense of humor“

“It is time for a return to childhood, to simplicity, to running and climbing and laughing in the sunshine, to experiencing happiness instead of being trained for a lifetime of pursuing happiness. It is time to let children be children again.” ― L.R. Knost, author and social justice activist

“No man can know where he is going unless he knows exactly where he has been and exactly how he arrived at his present place.” — Maya Angelou, author and poet

“What the world needs is not romantic lovers who are sufficient unto themselves, but husbands and wives who live in communities, relate to other people, carry on useful work and willingly give time and attention to their children.” ― Margaret Mead, anthropologist

“A broken family is a family in which any member must break herself into pieces to fit in. A whole family is one in which each member can bring her full self to the table knowing that she will always be both held and free.” ― Glennon Doyle, author

“You’ll have many moments when your husband, your children and your dog all need something from you at the exact same time. This is usually when you’re doing a frivolous activity like making dinner or washing laundry or going to the bathroom.” ― Stacey A. Shannon, journalist and blogger in “60 Motherhood truths to inspire you and make you laugh“

“The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another’s desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together.” ― Erma Bombeck, newspaper humor columnist

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