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60 Best Parenting Quotes For Hard Times To Inspire You

60 Best Parenting Quotes For Hard Times To Inspire You

Are you having a hard time in your role as a parent? Don’t worry, these wonderful parenting quotes for hard times will give you a dose of encouragement and help reduce your anxiety!

30 Best Parenting Quotes For Hard Times

1. “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 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

“It’s not only children who grow. Parents do, too.

2. “Children do not need us to shape them. They need us to respond to who they are.” — Naomi Aldort

3. “Perhaps one day, they’ll understand all the sacrifices she gladly made out of love for them.” — John Mark Green

4. “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

5. “By loving them for more than their abilities, we show our children that they are much more than the sum of their accomplishments.” — Eileen Kennedy-Moore

“By loving them for more than their abilities, we show our children that they are much more than the sum of their accomplishments.” — Eileen Kennedy-Moore

6. “Love is the chain whereby to bind a child to its parents.” — Abraham Lincoln

7. “Children need love, especially when they do not deserve it.” — Harold Hubert

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

9. “The miracle of children is that we just don’t know how they will change or who they will become.” ― Eileen Kennedy-Moore

10. “There really are places in the heart you don’t even know exist until you love a child.” — Anne Lamott

“There really are places in the heart you don’t even know exist until you love a child.” — Anne Lamott

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

12. “When little people are overwhelmed by big emotions, it’s our job to share our calm, not join their chaos.” — L.R. Knost

13. “A parent’s love is whole no matter how many times divided.” — Robert Brault

14. “If you have never been hated by your children you haven’t been a parent.” — Bette Davis

15. “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

“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

16. “Have patience with all things, but, first of all with yourself.” — Saint Francis de Sales

17. “You have to love your children unselfishly. That is hard. But it is the only way.” — Barbara Bush

18. “Encourage and support your kids because children are apt to live up to what you believe of them.” — Lady Bird Johnson

19. “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

20. “Don’t let yourself become so concerned with raising a good kid that you forget you already have one.” — Glennon Melton-Doyle

“Don’t let yourself become so concerned with raising a good kid that you forget you already have one.” — Glennon Melton-Doyle

21. “Parenthood…It’s about guiding the next generation, and forgiving the last.” — Peter Krause

22. “A dysfunctional family is any family with more than one person in it.” — Mary Karr

23. “Remember you are not managing an inconvenience. You are raising a human being.” — Kittie Franz

24. “It is time for parents to teach young people that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.” — Maya Angelou

25. “Being a mother is learning about strengths you didn’t know you had, and dealing with fears you didn’t know existed.” — Linda Wooten

“Being a mother is learning about strengths you didn’t know you had, and dealing with fears you didn’t know existed.” — Linda Wooten

26. “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

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

28. “Everything that happens to me in a day enhances my parenting.” — Pamela Adlon

29. “But kids don’t stay with you if you do it right. It’s the one job where, the better you are, the more surely you won’t be needed in the long run.” — Barbara Kingsolver

30. “Speak to your children as if they are the wisest, kindest, most beautiful and magical humans on earth, for what they believe is what they will become.” — Brooke Hampton

“Speak to your children as if they are the wisest, kindest, most beautiful and magical humans on earth, for what they believe is what they will become.” — Brooke Hampton

Inspirational Parenting Quotes For Hard Times

The following collection of parenting quotes for hard times was created to give you inspiration and remind you of all the joys of your parenting journey.

1. “Parents are the ultimate role models for children. Every word, every movement, and action affects. No other person or outside force has a greater influence on a child than a parent.” — Bob Keeshan

“Parents are the ultimate role models for children. Every word, every movement, and action affects. No other person or outside force has a greater influence on a child than a parent.”

2. “Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.” — Barbara Kingsolver

3. “Parenting is the biggest sacrifice one can make. It’s putting your life on hold to fulfill the promise of your children’s tomorrow.” — Unknown

4. “God could not be everywhere so he created mothers.” — Jewish Proverb

5. “Love is staying up all night with a sick child – or a healthy adult.” — David Frost

“Love is staying up all night with a sick child – or a healthy adult.” — David Frost

6. “To be a good father and mother requires that the parents defer many of their own needs and desires in favor of the needs of their children. As a consequence of this sacrifice, conscientious parents develop a nobility of character and learn to put into practice the selfless truths taught by the Savior Himself.” — James E. Faust

7. “Be the parent today that you want your kids to remember tomorrow.” — Unknown

8. “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.” — Graham R White

9. “A parent’s love is made of deep devotion, sacrifice, and pain; It is endless and unselfish, and enduring come what may.” — Unknown

10. “Never fear to spoil children by making them too happy. Happiness is the atmosphere in which all good affections grow.” — Thomas Bray

“Never fear to spoil children by making them too happy. Happiness is the atmosphere in which all good affections grow.” — Thomas Bray

Positive Parenting Quotes For Difficult Times

With parenthood, sometimes it feels like the hard times will never pass. Here are some positive parenting quotes for hard times from those who’ve been there and survived. They’ll help you your focus on the rewarding part of being a parent.

1. “The depth of the love of parents for their children cannot be measured. It is like no other relationship. It exceeds concern for life itself. The love of a parent for a child is continuous and transcends heartbreak and disappointment.” — James E. Faust

“The depth of the love of parents for their children cannot be measured.

2. “The parenting journey holds the potential to be a spiritually regenerative experience for both the parent and the child, where every moment is a meeting of spirits. And both parent and child appreciate that each dances on a spiritual path that’s unique, holding hands and yet alone”. — Dr. Shefali Tsabary

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

4. “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

5. “You must first teach a child he is loved. Only then is he ready to learn everything else.” — Amanda Morgan

“You must first teach a child he is loved. Only then is he ready to learn everything else.” — Amanda Morgan

6. “Even though your kids will consistently do the exact opposite of what you’re telling them to do, you have to keep loving them just as much.” — Bill Cosby

7. “Children are just different from one another, especially in temperament. Some are shy, others bold; some active, some quiet; some confident, others less so. Respect for individual differences is in my view the cornerstone of good parent-child relationships.” — Sandra Scarr

8. ”As a single mom, I’m juggling a lot and working long hours. Yes, it costs them a little, but what my children get in return is a mother who is energized and content.” — Edie Falco

9. “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

10. “Don’t tell your kids, ‘I’m proud of you.’ tell them, ‘You should be proud of yourself.” — Kristen Welch

“Don’t tell your kids, ‘I’m proud of you.’ tell them, ‘You should be proud of yourself.” — Kristen Welch

Funny Parenting Quotes To Smile Through It All

The following parenting quotes for hard times speak about funny situations in parenthood that every parent can relate to. These funny parenting quotes will bring a smile to your face even when you’re on the verge of collapse.

1. “Having children is like living in a frat house: nobody sleeps, everything is broken, and there’s a lot of throwing up.” — Ray Romano

“Having children is like living in a frat house nobody sleeps, everything is broken, and there's a lot of throwing up.” — Ray Romano

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

3. “I love when my kids tell me they’re bored. As if the lady standing in front of a full sink of dirty dishes is where you go to get ideas about how to have a good time.” — Unknown

4. “Not all who wander are lost. Some are just moms in Target, hiding from their kids.” — Unknown

5. “Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the sidewalk before it stops snowing.” — Phyllis Diller

“Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the sidewalk before it stops snowing.” — Phyllis Diller

6. “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

7. “My biggest parenting conundrum: why is it so hard to put someone who is already sleepy to sleep.” – Chrissy Teigen

8. “Nobody is hungrier than the kid who has been told it’s time for bed.” — Unknown

9. “A 2-year-old is kind of like having a blender, but you don’t have a top for it.” — Jerry Seinfeld

10. “My kid is turning out just like me. Well played, karma. Well played.” — Unknown

“My kid is turning out just like me. Well played, karma. Well played.” — Unknown

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed reading my collection of the best parenting quotes for hard times!

Our children are our greatest gift. However, raising them is one of the toughest jobs in the world.

The parenting quotes from this article were created to remind you that parenting is tricky and difficult for everyone, not just you.

The important thing is to stay focused on the big picture; all the joys of raising those little human beings we love the most.

Until next time!

Read next: 70 Relatable Empty Nest Quotes To Comfort & Inspire You

60 Best Parenting Quotes For Hard Times To Inspire You