Depending on who you ask, parenting is either a sweet dream or a strange nightmare — and sometimes both at the same time. Regardless, there’s no denying that parenthood creates some amazing memories. It’s often confusing and sometimes messy; especially when the kids have yet to master cleaning up after themselves, but magic can still be found in between it all. And when you’re not sure whether you should run away screaming or cry, quotes about parenting are there to help you feel grounded, secure and like you’re not alone. Or they just might give you a reason to laugh through it all.
The amazing thing about parenting is that with every day and each milestone, you learn more about yourself. Sure the fear of screwing up your kids may never go away, but eventually you start to feel more secure and trust your instincts as a parent. Still, regardless of the advice handed down, books read, observing of other parents you know, or parenting classes you’ve attended, nothing can quite prepare you for life with kids like good old on the job training. Here are hilarious, uplifting, and inspirational parenting quotes that show exactly how extremely messy and unpredictable, yet heartwarming, raising little humans can be.
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H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
"Always kiss your children goodnight, even if they're already asleep."
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Sue Atkins
"There is no such thing as a perfect parent. So just be a real one."
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Gena Lee Nolin
“My children are the reason I laugh, smile, and want to get up every morning."
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Elizabeth Gilbert
"Having a child is like getting a tattoo ... on your face. You better be committed."
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Anne Lamott
"There really are places in the heart you don't even know exist until you love a child."
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Nora Ephron
“When your children are teenagers, it’s important to have a dog so that someone in the house is happy to see you.”
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Bill Ayers
"Your kids require you most of all to love them for who they are, not to spend your whole time trying to correct them."
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Franklin P. Adams
"You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance."
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Ray Romano
"Having children is like living in a frat house — nobody sleeps, everything’s broken, and there’s a lot of throwing up."
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Henry Ward Beecher
"We never know the love of the parent till we become parents ourselves."
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Jill Churchill
"There’s no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one."
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Ewan McGregor
"The thing about parenting rules is there aren't any. That's what makes it so difficult."
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Franklin D. Roosevelt
"We may not be able to prepare the future for our children, but we can at least prepare our children for the future."
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Alyson Hannigan
"Why don’t kids understand their nap is not for them, but for us?"
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Carrie Underwood
"It just occurred to me that the majority of my diet is made up of the foods that my kid didn’t finish."
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Barbara Kingsolver
"Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws."
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William Galvin
"Mother Nature is providential. She gives us twelve years to develop a love for our children before turning them into teenagers."
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Wayne Dyer
"Your children are not your children, they come through you, but they are life itself, wanting to express itself."
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Ryan Reynolds
"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."
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Mitch Albom
"I realized when you look at your mother, you are looking at the purest love you will ever know."
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Oprah Winfrey
“Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother.”
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Tina Fey
“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.”
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Sandra Bullock
“You don’t have to give birth to someone to have a family.”
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Sandra Bullock
“The only man who has stolen my heart is my son.”
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Sandra Bullock
“I basically became a cheerleader because I had a very strict mom. That was my way of being a bad girl.”
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Mindy Kaling
"My daughter told me I looked like a piñata and I take that as the highest compliment."
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Mindy Kaling
"I've been outsmarted by a toddler, how's your Thursday going?"
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Malala Yousafzai
“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.”
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Taraji P. Henson
Once you're a mom, always a mom. It's like riding a bike, you never forget.
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Mayim Bialik
“I came to parenting the way most of us do — knowing nothing and trying to learn everything.”
Terri Huggins HartTerri Huggins Hart is an award-winning journalist, lifestyle writer, parenting writer, and race and culture writer who is convinced she's figured out the trick to living life with no regrets: do what you love, give love, lead with love.
