70 of the Most Popular Quotes for Parents That Sum Up What Parenting is Really Like

These quotes for parents tell it like it is.

No moment is more life changing than when you’re first child is born.

Gone are the days of thinking only of yourself. Or a semblance of free time. And forget about having a neat and tidy house.

But gained is the gift of seeing the world through a child’s eyes and experiencing deepest love possible.

The following quotes for parents sum up what parenthood is like. They’re followed by quotes that show appreciation for parents and finally some helpful advice.

Quotes for parents that sum up what it’s like to be a parent

“Parenting is the easiest thing in the world to have an opinion about, but the hardest thing in the world to do.” – Matt Walsh

“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.” – Joyce Maynard

“Parenting is a constant battle between going to bed early to catch up on sleep or staying up late to enjoy some peace and quiet.” – unknown

“The best thing about being a parent is the opportunity to be a kid again.” – unknown

“Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression.” – Haim Ginott

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

“A child’s life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a mark.” – Robert A. Heinlein

“Parenting is not for sissies. You have to sacrifice and grow up.” – Jillian Michaels

“Parenting is the hardest job you will ever love.” – unknown

“A child is a beam of sunlight from the Infinite and Eternal, with possibilities of virtue and vice, but as yet unstained.” – Lyman Abbott

“Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.” – James Baldwin

“It’s a funny thing about mothers and fathers. Even when their own child is the most disgusting little blister you could ever imagine, they still think that he or she is wonderful.” – Roald Dahl

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

“Being a parent means loving your children more than you’ve ever loved yourself.” – Unknown

“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

“There is no friendship, no love, like that of the parent for the child.” – Henry Ward Beecher

“Raising a child is like taking care of someone who is on drugs – you never know what will set them off.” – Unknown

“The love of a parent for a child is continuous and transcends heartbreak and disappointment.” — James E. Faust

“Parenthood is a lot easier to get into than it is to get out of.” – Bruce Lansky

“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.” — James E. Faust

“When you have a child, you start to appreciate life in a whole new way.” – Unknown

“The art of mothering is to teach the art of living to children.” – Elaine Heffner

“The greatest joy in life is seeing your children grow up to be successful adults.” – Unknown

“In the happiest of our childhood memories, our parents were happy, too.”– Robert Brault

“Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.” – Neil Postman

“There’s nothing like your mother’s sympathetic voice to make you want to burst into tears.” ― Sophie Kinsella

“Your children are the greatest gift God will give to you, and their souls the heaviest responsibility He will place in your hands. Take time with them, teach them to have faith in God. Be a person in whom they can have faith. When you are old, nothing else you’ve done will have mattered as much.” – Lisa Wingate

“What’s it 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

“Being a parent is like being a gardener – you plant the seeds, nurture the soil, and then watch as they grow into something beautiful.” – Unknown

Quotes that show appreciation and love for parents

“My heroes are and were my parents. I can’t see having anyone else as my heroes.” – Michael Jordan

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

“A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take.” – Cardinal Mermillod

“One of the greatest titles in the world is parent, and one of the biggest blessings in the world is to have parents to call mom and dad.” – Jim DeMint

“When you look into your mother’s eyes, you know that is the purest love you can find on this earth.” – Mitch Albom

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

“The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness.”- Honore de Balzac

“Our parents prayer is the most beautiful poetry and expectations.”– Aditia Rinaldi

“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

“My parents are my backbone. Still are. They’re the only group that will support you if you score zero or you score 40.” – Kobe Bryant

“A mother’s love is patient and forgiving when all others are forsaking, it never fails or falters, even though the heart is breaking.” – Helen Rice

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

Quotes with advice for parents

“The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.” – Theodore Hesburgh

“The greatest legacy we can leave our children is happy memories.” – Og Mandino

“It is the sunlight of parental love and encouragement that enables a child to grow in competence and slowly gain mastery over his environment.” – Felicity Bauer

“The best way to make children good is to make them happy.” – Oscar Wilde

“Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work.” – C.S. Lewis

“Your children need your presence more than your presents.” – Jesse Jackson

“In the end, kids will not remember that fancy toy or game you bought for them, they will remember the time you spent with them.” – Kevin Heath

“The most important thing in the world is family and love.” – John Wooden

“Parenting is not about perfection. It’s about loving your children with all your heart and doing your best to raise them well.” – unknown

“Your children will become what you are; so be what you want them to be.” – David Bly

“Parents are not perfect, nor are they saints. Dads and moms make mistakes all the time. How you handle these situations will be an important life lesson for your children.” – Bethany Bridges

“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

“The way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice.” – Peggy O’Mara

“Your children will become what you are; so be what you want them to be.” – David Bly

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

“Parents of young children should realize that few people, and maybe no one, will find their children as enchanting as they do.” – Barbara Walters

“The greatest gift you can give your child is your time.” – Unknown

“Parents need to fill a child’s bucket of self esteem so high that the rest of the world can’t poke enough holes to make it dry.” — Alvin H. Price

“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

“It’s not what you do for your children, but what you have taught them to do for themselves, that will make them successful human beings.” – Ann Landers

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

“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

“Love is giving your kids your undivided attention and time.” – Kevin Heath

“Parents are without a doubt, one of the most, if not the most influential role models that their kids will probably have under normal circumstances.” – Joseph R. Parker

“Don’t worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.” – Robert Fulghum

“Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children.” – Charles R. Swindoll

“Good parenting is about making the time to listen to your children, no matter how busy you are.” – Unknown

“The best way to keep children at home is to make the home a pleasant atmosphere and let the air out of the tires.” – Dorothy Parker

“If you want your children to turn out well, spend twice as much time with them, and half as much money.” – Abigail Van Buren