The best parenting quotes capture the wonder (and humor) of having children. I mean, there is nothing like parenthood, from the moment you realize you’re about to become one, to seeing your kids all grown up. Here, I’ve rounded up the most amazing parenting quotes around. They’ll inspire you, make you laugh, and more.
1. “No one is ever quite ready; everyone is always caught off guard. Parenthood chooses you. And you open your eyes, look at what you’ve got, say “Oh, my gosh,” and recognize that of all the balls there ever were, this is the one you should not drop. It’s not a question of choice.” ― Marisa de los Santos, author of Love Walked In
2. “I came to parenting the way most of us do — knowing nothing and trying to learn everything.” — Mayim Bialik, actress and neuroscientist
3. “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
4. “The beauty of motherhood is not in the freshly pressed shirts and smiling photos we show the world. The beauty of motherhood is in the folds and creases of our lives, the grimaces and tantrums, the moments when we have to grit our teeth to get through, when we pound on windows and yell and scream and demand better of each other and ourselves.” — Robyn Passante, blogger
Parenting Quote #5: “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
6. “I feel very blessed to have two wonderful, healthy children who keep me completely grounded, sane and throw up on my shoes just before I go to an awards show just so I know to keep it real.” — Reese Witherspoon, actress
7. “Parenting without a sense of humor is like being an accountant who sucks at math.” — Amber Dusick, blogger
8. “Parenting is not for sissies. You have to sacrifice and grow up.” — Jillian Michaels, trainer and TV personality
9. “Pregnancy and motherhood are the most beautiful and significantly life-altering events that I have ever experienced.” — Elisabeth Hasselbeck, TV personality
10. “Having a baby dragged me, kicking and screaming, from the world of self-absorption.” — Paul Reiser, comedian
11. “I don’t think it matters how many parents you’ve got, as long as those who are around make their presence a good one.” ― Elizabeth Wurtzel, author of Prozac Nation
12. “Behind every young child who believes in himself is a parent who believed first.” — Matthew Jacobson, blogger
Parenting Quote #13: “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
14. “The way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice.” — Peggy O’Mara, blogger
15. “Motherhood has completely changed me. It’s just about like the most completely humbling experience that I’ve ever had. I think that it puts you in your place because it really forces you to address the issues that you claim to believe in and if you can’t stand up to those principles when you’re raising a child, forget it.” — Diane Keaton, actress
16. “You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance.” ― Franklin P. Adams, newspaper columnist
17. “Dad needs to show an incredible amount of respect and humor and friendship toward his mate so the kids understand their parents are sexy, they’re fun, they do things together, they’re best friends. Kids learn by example. If I respect Mom, they’re going to respect Mom.” — Tim Allen, actor
18. “Motherhood was the great equalizer for me; I started to identify with everybody… as a mother, you have that impulse to wish that no child should ever be hurt, or abused, or go hungry, or not have opportunities in life.” — Annie Lennox, singer
Parenting Quote #19: “Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother.” — Oprah Winfrey, TV host, actress, and philanthropist
20. “People expect you to change when you become a mother, and of course my priorities changed when I had Violet. She’s number one in my life and the best thing that ever happened to me, but I still have fun. I am still myself, but that is made out to seem like I am rebelling against motherhood.” — Imelda May, musician
21. “The thing about parenting rules is there aren’t any. That’s what makes it so difficult.” — Ewan McGregor, actor
22. “No matter how much time you spend reading books or following your intuition, you’re gonna screw it up. Fifty times. You can’t do parenting right.” — Alan Arkin, actor
23. “I don’t know what’s more exhausting about parenting: the getting up early, or acting like you know what you’re doing.” ― Jim Gaffigan, actor and comedian
24. “My doctors told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother.” — Wilma Rudolph, Olympian
25. “There are so many quiet times you spend as a mother that aren’t glorified but are a foundation for your kids. No matter what, there was always a thick safety net under this trapeze.” — Tina Fey, actress and comedian
Parenting Quote #26: “Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.” ― Benjamin Spock, pediatrician
27. “My worst parenting moments, the ones I am least proud of, happened because I was trying to impress a bunch of strangers I’ll probably never see again.” — Janel Mills, blogger
28. “Being a mother is learning about strengths you didn’t know you had, and dealing with fears you didn’t know existed.” — Linda Wooten, writer
29. “The best advice my mom has ever given me is to never give up. She believes when one door shuts, another door opens. Always, always move forward.” — Melissa Rivers, TV personality
30. “For me, being a mother made me a better professional, because coming home every night to my girls reminded me what I was working for. And being a professional made me a better mother, because by pursuing my dreams, I was modeling for my girls how to pursue their dreams.” — Michelle Obama, First Lady of the United States
31. “I became the kind of parent my mother was to me.” — Maya Angelou, poet
32. “If John Lennon was right that life is what happens when you’re making other plans, parenthood is what happens when everything is flipped over and spilling everywhere and you can’t find a towel or a sponge or your ‘inside’ voice.” ― Kelly Corrigan, author of Lift
33. “If you bungle raising your children, I don’t think whatever else you do matters very much.” — Jackie Kennedy, former First Lady of the United States
34. “Having kids — the responsibility of rearing good, kind, ethical, responsible human beings — is the biggest job anyone can embark on. As with any risk, you have to take a leap of faith and ask lots of wonderful people for their help and guidance. I thank God every day for giving me the opportunity to parent.” ― Maria Shriver, journalist
35. “To raise a child, it sometimes takes a village…but sometimes that village should shut up and mind their own business.” — Susan McLean, blogger
Parenting Quote #36: “The best kind of parent you can be is to lead by example.” — Drew Barrymore, actress
37. “I don’t remember who said this, but there really are places in the heart you don’t even know exist until you love a child.” ― Anne Lamott, author of Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son’s First Year
38. “We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future,” Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States
39. “Parenthood…it’s about guiding the next generation and forgiving the last.” — Peter Krause, actor
40. “I looked on childrearing not only as a work of love and duty but as a profession that was fully interesting and challenging as any honourable profession in the world and one that demanded the best that I could bring to it.” — Rose Kennedy, socialite and philanthropist
