These 125 Quotes on Being a Parent Will Give You All the Feelings

If you're a parent, you know it's the most frustrating, hilarious, fulfilling, emotional, joy-sparking (the adjectives go on and on) experience you'll ever have in your life. There's so much to say about being a parent that it often leaves you speechless—which is why it's OK to let others sum it up for you once in a while.

Here are 125 parenting quotes that will resonate with every type of parent.

125 Parenting Quotes

1. "When you hold your baby in your arms the first time, and you think of all the things you can say and do to influence him, it's a tremendous responsibility. What you do with him can influence not only him, but everyone he meets and not for a day or a month or a year but for time and eternity." — Rose Kennedy
2. "It would be easy to be a parent if you said 'yes' all the time and gave them what they wanted, but you just can't do that. There are certain things, of course, where you're going to say 'no' and be tougher on." — Chrissy Teigen
3. "Instant availability without continuous presence is probably the best role a mother can play." — Lotte Bailyn
4. “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
5. “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
6. "What's done to children, they will do to society." — Karl Menninger
7. "You learn so much about yourself from being a parent and you care more about the world you are raising your kids in." — Kim Kardashian
8. "If your kids are giving you a headache, follow the directions on the aspirin bottle, especially the part that says "keep away from children." — Susan Savannah
9. "The secret of dealing successfully with a child is not to be its parent." — Mell Lazarus
10. "The uncertainty of parenting can bring up feelings in us that range from frustration to terror." — Brene Brown
11. "Perhaps it takes courage to raise children." — John Steinbeck
12. “(24/7) once you sign on to be a mother, that’s the only shift they offer.”― Jodi Picoult
13. "Love as powerful as your mother’s for you leaves its own mark to have been loved so deeply .. will give us some protection forever." — J.K. Rowling
14.  “One thing I had learned from watching chimpanzees with their infants is that having a child should be fun.” ― Jane Goodall
15. "Children are educated by what the grown-up is and not by his talk." — Carl Jung
16. "You have a lifetime to work, but children are only young once." — Polish Proverb
17. "There really are places in the heart you don't even know exist until you love a child." — Anne Lamott
18. "We've had bad luck with our kids - they've all grown up."— Christopher Morley
19. “One hundred years from now it won’t matter what your bank account was, the sort of house you lived in, or the kind of car you drove, but the world may be different because you were important in the life of a child.” — Forest E. Witcraft
20. "Girls are the future mothers of our society, and it is important that we focus on their well-being." — Miriam Makeba
21. "Your children vividly remember every unkind thing you ever did to them, plus a few you really didn't. — Mignon McLaughlin
22. "No one knows his true character until he has run out of gas, purchased something on the installment plan and raised an adolescent." — Marcelene Cox
23. "I didn't think I'd have a child before I got married, but hey, it turned out that way and I wouldn't change a thing. I didn't think I'd have dessert before breakfast this morning, but hey, it turned out that way and I wouldn't change thing." — Mindy Kaling
24. "Never lend your car to anyone to whom you have given birth." — Erma Bombeck
25. “Before I got married I had six theories about raising children; now, I have six children and no theories.”― John Wilmot
26. "You start to focus less on what's wrong for you and more on what's wrong for the next generation. It mobilizes you. Some moms channel that into the PTA, and other moms channel it into marching for women's rights, so moms need to be more rebellious than ever." — Pink
27. "Always kiss your children goodnight, even if they're already asleep." — H. Jackson Brown, Jr. 
28. “All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my mother.” — Abraham Lincoln
29.  “To be in your children’s memories tomorrow, you have to be in their lives today.” ― Barbara Johnson
30. "There is no such thing as being the perfect parent. So just be a real one." — Sue Atkins
31. "If the day ever came when we were able to accept ourselves and our children exactly as we and they are, then, I believe, we would have come very close to an ultimate understanding of what 'good' parenting means." — Fred Rogers
32. "Having a child is like getting a tattoo ... on your face. You better be committed." — Elizabeth Gilbert
33. “We spend the first 12 months of our children’s lives teaching them to walk and talk and the next 12 months teaching them to sit down and shut up.” ― Phyllis Diller
34. "A child enters your home and for the next twenty years makes so much noise you can hardly stand it. The child departs, leaving the house so silent you think you are going mad." — John Andrew Holmes
35. “When your children are teenagers, it’s important to have a dog so that someone in the house is happy to see you.” — Nora Ephron
36. "Having children is like living in a frat house — nobody sleeps, everything’s broken, and there’s a lot of throwing up." — Ray Romano
37. "The thing about parenting rules is there aren’t any. That’s what makes it so difficult." — Ewan McGregor
38. "We may not be able to prepare the future for our children, but we can at least prepare our children for the future." — Franklin D. Roosevelt
39.  “Pregnancy and motherhood are the most beautiful and significantly life-altering events that I have ever experienced.” — Elisabeth Hasselbeck
40. “Every day, in a hundred small ways our children ask, “Do you hear me? Do you see me? Do I matter” Their behavior often reflects our response.” — L.R. Knost
41. "Let's be honest, kids take the number one position and it's haaaaard to make the time for yourself." — Kate Hudson
42. "Setting a good example for your children takes all the fun out of middle age." — William Feather
43. "It just occurred to me that the majority of my diet is made up of the foods that my kid didn’t finish." — Carrie Underwood
44. "I feel like I was never this patient, but it's made me a nicer person, and I apply it to all aspects of my life." — Hilary Duff
45. "Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws." — Barbara Kingsolver
46. Children should not be burdened with making us happy, nor blamed for making us sad or angry.  Children are not responsible for how we feel.  We are. — Larissa Dann
47. "Just because you're a parent doesn't mean your needs aren't important." — Hilary Duff
48. "On our 6 a.m. walk, my daughter asked where the moon goes each morning. I let her know it’s in heaven, visiting Daddy’s freedom." — Ryan Reynolds
49. "We're doing the best we can, so it would be really nice if moms supported each other instead of pointing out the flaws. We're all trying to do the best we can." — Jana Kramer
50.  “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
51. “Parenthood…it’s about guiding the next generation and forgiving the last.” — Peter Krause
52. “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
53. “The point of parenting is not to have all the answers before we start out but instead to figure it out on the go as our children grow. Because as they do, so will we.”— Bridgett Miller
54. “Everybody knows how to raise children, except the people who have them.” ― P. J. O’Rourke
55. "The more people have studied different methods of bringing up children the more they have come to the conclusion that what good mothers and fathers instinctively feel like doing for their babies is the best after all." — Benjamin Spock
56.  “Having a baby dragged me, kicking and screaming, from the world of self-absorption.” — Paul Reiser
57. “The best way to make children good is to make them happy.” — Oscar Wilde
58. “Becoming a mom to me means that you have accepted that for the next 16 years of your life, you will have a sticky purse.” — Nia Vardalos
59. Ask your child what he wants for dinner only if he's buying. — Fran Lebowitz
60. “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
61. "One reason we have children I think is to learn that parts of ourselves we had given up for dead are merely dormant and that the old joys can re emerge fresh and new and in a completely different form.” ― Anne Fadiman
62. “I want them to see a mother who loves them dearly, who invests in them, but who also invests in herself. It’s just as much about letting them know as young women that it is okay to put yourself a little higher on your priority list.” — Michelle Obama
63. "To me luxury is to be at home with my daughter, and the occasional massage doesn't hurt." — Olivia Newton-John
64. “If you have never been hated by your child, you have never been a parent.” — Bette Davis
65. "You see much more of your children once they leave home." — Lucille Ball
66. “Children are apt to live up to what you believe of them.” — Lady Bird Johnson
67. “Children must never work for our love, they must rest in it.”— Gordon Neufeld
68. “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
69. “It is time for parents to teach young people that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.” – Maya Angelou
70. "All of us have moments in our lives that test our courage. Taking children into a house with a white carpet is one of them. — Erma Bombeck
71. “Too much love never spoils children. Children become spoiled when we substitute presents for presence.” — Anthony Withman
72. "The best security blanket a child can have is parents who respect each other."  — Janet Blaustone
73.  “If you bungle raising your children, I don’t think whatever else you do matters very much.” — Jackie Kennedy
74. “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
75. “The most powerful way to change the world is to live in front of our children the way we would like the world to be.”
76. “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
77. "Nurturing never happens in a rush."  — Emma Scheib
78. "Each day of our lives we make deposits into the memory banks of our children."  — Charles R. Swindoll
79. "Don’t let yourself become so concerned with raising a good kid that you forget you already have one." — Glennon Melton
80. "My advice for new moms is this: You’ve have never been a mom before, and your baby is new to this world. So be kind to yourself, and be patient. It takes time, but you’ll get the hang of it!” — Hillary Clinton
81. "The best way to keep children at home is to make the home atmosphere pleasant, and let the air out of the tires." — Dorothy Parker
82. “Behind every young child who believes in himself is a parent who believed first.” — Matthew Jacobson
83. “Parenting is one of the best management training programs there is.”— Irene Rosenfeld
84. "A lot of parents will do anything for their kids except let them be themselves."  — Banksy
85. "It’s not difficult to take care of a child; it’s difficult to do anything else while taking care of a child."  — Julianne Moore
86.  “You go through big chunks of time where you're just thinking, 'This is impossible — oh, this is impossible.' And then you just keep going and keep going, and you sort of do the impossible.”— Tina Fey
87. “There's no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one." — Jill Churchill
88. “The weird thing is that you’re just not a parent ... and then you are. It takes your brain a couple hours to catch up to that.” — Seth Meyers
89. “Don’t try to make children grow up to be like you, or they may do it.”― Russell Baker
90. “We never know the love of a parent till we become parents ourselves.” — Henry Ward Beecher
91. “The most important thing that parents can teach their children is how to get along without them.” ― Frank A. Clark
92. "Most things are good, and they are the strongest things; but there are evil things too, and you are not doing a child a favor by trying to shield him from reality. The important thing is to teach a child that good can always triumph over evil." — Walt Disney
93. "Whenever I held my newborn baby in my arms, I used to think that what I said and did to him could have an influence not only on him but on all whom he met, not only for a day or a month or a year, but for all eternity — a very challenging and exciting thought for a mother." — Rose Kennedy
94. "Most American children suffer too much mother and too little father." — Gloria Steinem
95. “Your children need your presence more than your presents.” ― Jesse Jackson
96. "Being a parent makes you feel like a blanket that’s always too small. No matter how hard you try to cover everyone, there’s always someone who’s freezing.” ― Fredrik Backman
97. "The interesting thing about being a mother is that everyone wants pets, but no one but me cleans the kitty litter." — Meryl Streep
98.  "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
99. “Motherhood [and Fatherhood] has taught me the meaning of living in the moment and being at peace. Children don’t think about yesterday, and they don’t think about tomorrow. They just exist in the moment.” — Jessalyn Gilsig
100. “Be a full person. Motherhood is a glorious gift, but do not define yourself solely by motherhood. Be a full person. Your child will benefit from that.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
101. “I came to parenting the way most of us do – knowing nothing and trying to learn everything.” — Mayim Bialik
102. “The danger of motherhood. you relive your early self, through the eyes of your mother.”― Joyce Carol Oates
103. “By loving them for more than their abilities we show our children they are much more than the sum of their accomplishments.” — Eileen Kennedy-Moore
104.  “Parenting without a sense of humor is like being an accountant who sucks at math.” — Amber Dusick
105. "I'm not a parenting expert. In fact, I'm not sure that I even believe in the idea of 'parenting experts.' I'm an engaged, imperfect parent and a passionate researcher. I'm an experienced mapmaker and a stumbling traveler. Like many of you, parenting is by far my boldest and most daring adventure." — Brene Brown
106. “So much is asked of parents, and so little is given.” ― Virginia Satir
107.  “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
108. “You must first teach a child he is loved. Only then is he ready to learn everything else.” — Amanda Morgan
109. “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
110. “Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother.” — Oprah Winfrey
111.  “Parenting is not for sissies. You have to sacrifice and grow up.” — Jillian Michaels
112. "Being a working parent sometimes is unbelievably heartbreaking and hard but thank god for FaceTime (even if it's blurry)." — Busy Philipps
113. “Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing.” — Phyllis Diller
114.  “The miracle of children is that we just don’t know how they will change or who they will become.” ― Eileen Kennedy-Moore
115. “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
116. “Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.” — James Baldwin
117.  "Balance is what it's all about no matter what your job is. Being a mom, working, and dividing your time. It's what we all have to do as mothers." — Carrie Underwood
118. "You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance.” ― Franklin P. Adams
119. "Children have more need of models than of critics." — Carolyn Coats
120. "If you want your children to improve, let them overhear the nice things you say about them to others."  — Haim Ginott
121. "You can’t teach children to behave better by making them feel worse.  When children feel better they behave better." — Pam Lee
122. "The trouble with being a parent is that by the time you are experienced, you are unemployed." — Author Unknown
123. "No matter how many books you read or advice I get, y'all never be ready for mommy mode." — Cardi B
124. "Insanity is hereditary. You can get it from your children." — Sam Levenson
125. "A child, like your stomach, doesn't need all you can afford to give it." — Frank A. Clark

Want more great quotes? Check out…

50 Thinking of You Quotes
150 Good Morning Quotes
100 Wedding and Marriage Quotes
50 Friday Quotes
101 Quotes about Change
101 Anxiety Quotes