Here’s a collection of quotes that we can use to inspire ourselves to be better parents. I hope that you find these quotes inspiring and that they continually serve you well on your parenting journey.
1.) “Children don’t listen to us. They watch us.”
~Kevin Cosmo
Occasionally, we may drop a pearl of wisdom from our mouths that our children pick up and keep for life, but one thing is for certain; they will master our tendencies, habits, and lifestyle. Our way of living leaves a lasting impression upon our children, that words cannot begin to encapsulate. We lead by example, for better or worse. Let’s do our best.
2.) “Love is a process of inclusion. Once I include you as a part of me, I will be to you just the way I am to myself.”
~Sadhguru
When we are fully in love (a state of total acceptance, inclusion) with our children, we will give them the same respect we are due and show them the same tenderness of care that we too deserve.
3.) “Your children need your presence more than your presents.”
~Jesse Jackson
Children will remember moments with Mom and Dad more than they’ll remember a toy car or plastic doll.
4.) “Whatever you would have your children become, strive to exhibit in your own lives and conversation.”
~Lydia H. Sigourney
Leading is done from the front. Do as we want mimicked, because it very likely will be.
5.) “If a child can’t learn the way we teach, then we must teach the way they learn.” ~Unknown
We have the best opportunity to help our children reach for whatever dreams they aspire to, by tuning into our child’s needs, desires, and challenges, and then adapting our approach to meet them where they’re at.
Have you ever met someone exactly like You? Then, why would we expect to find a child who is like any other child? Teach to the individual.
6.) “All parents should know that: “He who knows patience knows peace.”
~Chinese proverb
Why didn’t someone tell me sooner?
7.) “A person soon learns how little he knows when a child begins to ask questions.”
~Richard L. Evans
Let’s hop off our high horses, and enjoy life on the same level as our children. Parents may have arrived on the planet a few years before their children, and figured out how to make an income, but children are keenly aware of many things that parents miss and are already masters at finding life’s joys.
8.) “Children keep us in check. Their laughter prevents our hearts from hardening. Their dreams ensure we never lose our drive to make ours a better world. They are the greatest disciplinarians known to mankind.”
~Queen Rania of Jordan
Use children for what you can parents; a reminder that life is truly AWEsome.
9.) “Don’t demand respect as a parent. Demand civility and insist on honesty. But respect is something you must earn — with kids as well as with adults.”
— William Attwood
Respect is a two way street.
10.) “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
Words are a distant second, behind action.
11.) “Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”
— Elizabeth Stone
Creating a child takes very little effort, but to create a parent takes commitment, consistency, and effort.
12.) “Call them rules or call them limits, good ones, I believe, have this in common: they serve reasonable purposes; they are practical and within a child’s capability; they are consistent; and they are an expression of loving concern.”
~Fred Rogers
Mr. Rogers is so on point, that I’ll share another gem from him…“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.”
Rules and boundaries don’t mean the absence of fun and play. Quite the opposite, actually. Can you think of a game that doesn’t have rules or boundaries? Limits create a safe and trusted place for all the fun to take place.
13.) “If I had my child to raise all over again,
I’d build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I’d finger-paint more, and point the finger less.
I would do less correcting and more connecting.
I’d take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.
I’d take more hikes and fly more kites.
I’d stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.
I’d do more hugging and less tugging.”
— Diane Loomans, from “If I Had My Child To Raise Over Again”
We don’t get to do it over again. So parent in a way that you’ll remember with joy and fondness.
13.) “Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.”
~Jim Rohn
If we plan to be around to enjoy and help our children through life, then that hinges almost entirely on how we take care of our health. Have you thought about playing with your grandchildren? Or your enjoyment of life during, and after raising young children? Invest in your health. It’s worth every bit of effort, for you and your family.
14.) “If a parent loves a child because the child is theirs, it is about the child being their property.
If a parent loves a child, for who the child is, the child is very fortunate.”
~Kevin Cosmo
Kahlil Gibran analogized the parent-child relationship to a bow and arrow. Our children may come from us, but they are not ours. If we attempt to force our children to be daffodils, because we are daffodils, we will likely end up with a wilted flower. Each child is it’s own unique wild flower.
15.) “Parenthood, its not a job. It’s an adventure!”
~Author Unknown
Go live it!
