Inspirational Parents Quotes

It's not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours. I can't tell my children to reach for the sun. All I can do is reach for it, myself.

Joyce Maynard

Family, Mother, Children

Joyce Maynard (2010). “At Home in the World: A Memoir”, p.300, Macmillan

88 Copy quote

Show source
What it's like to be a parent: It's one of the hardest things you'll ever do but in exchange it teaches you the meaning of unconditional love.

Nicholas Sparks

Love, Parenting, Inspire

FaceBook post by Nicholas Sparks from Jun 21, 2011

29 Copy quote

Show source
If I had my child to raise all over again,I'd finger paint more, and point the finger less.I'd do less correcting, and more connecting.I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.I would care to know less, and know to care more.I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.I'd run through more fields, and gaze at more stars.I'd do more hugging, and less tugging.I would be firm less often, and affirm much more.I'd build self esteem first, and the house later.I'd teach less about the love of power, and more about the power of love.

Diana Loomans

Running, Stars, Children

72 Copy quote
Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children.

Charles R. Swindoll

Family, Friday, Mother

"Creating Fond Memories With Our Children" by Dr. Hyder Zahed, www.huffingtonpost.com. September 15, 2014.

192 Copy quote

Show source
Through the blur, I wondered if I was alone or if other parents felt the same way I did - that everything involving our children was painful in some way. The emotions, whether they were joy, sorrow, love or pride, were so deep and sharp that in the end they left you raw, exposed and yes, in pain. The human heart was not designed to beat outside the human body and yet, each child represented just that - a parent's heart bared, beating forever outside its chest.

Debra Ginsberg

Mom, Funny Inspirational, Children

52 Copy quote
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

Inspiring, Funny Inspirational, Children

Anne Lamott (1994). “Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year”, Fawcett

61 Copy quote

Show source
Life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege, than the raising of the next generation

C. Everett Koop

Love, Teacher, Children

94 Copy quote
Your children will become what you are; so be what you want them to be

David Bly

Family, Inspiring, Success

99 Copy quote
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

Mom, Dad, Children

Gary Smalley, John T. Trent (1995). “Leaving the Light On: Building the Memories That Will Draw Kids Home”, Multnomah

316 Copy quote

Show source
It's not only children who grow. Parents do too.

Joyce Maynard

Children, Parenting, Single Child

Joyce Maynard (2010). “At Home in the World: A Memoir”, p.300, Macmillan

42 Copy quote

Show source
If you can give your child only one gift, let it be enthusiasm.

Bruce Barton

Relationship, Birthday, Daughter

95 Copy quote
My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.

Clarence Budington Kelland

Life, Fathers Day, Children

87 Copy quote
If you've never been hated by your child, you've never been a parent.

Bette Davis

Mom, Mother, Children

129 Copy quote
Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands.

Anne Frank

Inspirational, Growing Up, Women

FaceBook post by Anne Frank from Nov 29, 2014

79 Copy quote

Show source
Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.

Robert Fulghum

Marriage, Mother, Children

"Reflections for Tending the Sacred Garden". Book by Bonita Jean Zimmer (p. 182), April 2003.

176 Copy quote

Show source
The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.

Theodore Hesburgh

Love, Inspirational, Funny

249 Copy quote
The most important thing that parents can teach their children is how to get along without them.

Frank A. Clark

Children, Parenting, Important

68 Copy quote
Let parents bequeath to their children not riches, but the spirit of reverence.

Plato

Family, Children, Plato

Plato, Charles Henry Augustus Bulkley (1876). “Plato's Best Thoughts: Compiled from Prof. Jowett's Translation of the Dialogues of Plato”, p.62

28 Copy quote

Show source
To bring up a child in the way he should go, travel that way yourself once in a while. Your children need your presence more than your presents.

Jesse Jackson

Family, Children, Parenting

15 Copy quote
The human heart was not designed to beat outside the human body and yet, each child represented just that - a parent’s heart bared, beating forever outside its chest.

Debra Ginsberg

Children, Heart, Parenting

12 Copy quote
There is no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one.

Jill Churchill

Inspirational, Leadership, Mothers Day

77 Copy quote
To bring up a child in the way he should go, travel that way yourself once in a while.

Josh Billings

Family, Children, Dad

Josh Billings (1953). “Uncle Sam&s uncle Josh”

16 Copy quote

Show source
Always kiss your children goodnight, even if they're already asleep.

H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Family, Good Night, Baby

"Fictional character: Jennifer Jareau". "Criminal Minds" ("Boxed In", Season 10, Episode 5), October 29, 2014.

79 Copy quote

Show source
Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother

Lin Yutang

Mothers Day, Mom, Parenting

19 Copy quote
I looked on child rearing not only as a work of love and duty but as a profession that was fully as interesting and challenging as any honorable profession in the world and one that demanded the best that I could bring to it.

Rose Kennedy

Children, Women, Parenting

69 Copy quote