21 Parenting Quotes You'll Relate To a Little TOO Well

Parenting is not for the faint of heart. From your earliest days as a parent, you will wrestle with how to best raise the little humans in your care. As kids get older, it becomes even more challenging.

We all want to build self-esteem in our children and show them unconditional love, but we must also ensure they possess a healthy sense of boundaries and respect for others. Good parenting requires thought, effort, instinct and the ability to go with the flow.

All parents struggle with how to teach these lessons to their children. Conscious parenting is a never-ending job. It requires that you continually evaluate not only your child’s behavior but your own on a minute-by-minute basis, all day, every day.

If this sounds exhausting, it’s because it is. And if you go to bed each night completely worn down and feeling like you have no idea what you’re doing, then congratulations — that means you’re doing a great job!

Whatever you do, know that you are not alone in this crazy parenting journey. Other parents get you. They understand. So, if you’re feeling a little tired and need some parenting inspiration, grab a hot cup of coffee and settle in for some parenting wisdom from some of history and pop culture’s most well-known parents. There is inspirational quote after inspirational quote out there, but we've narrowed them down to our favorite parenting quotes.

2. “Parenthood has the power to redefine every aspect of life — marriage, work, relationships with family and friends. Those helpless bundles of power and promise that come into our world show us our true selves — who we are, who we are not, who we wish we could be.” ― Hillary Clinton

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

4. “Every night before I get my one hour of sleep, I have the same thought: ‘Well, that's a wrap on another day of acting like I know what I'm doing.’ I wish I were exaggerating, but I'm not. Most of the time, I feel entirely unqualified to be a parent. I call these times being awake.” ― Jim Gaffigan

5. “If you have never been hated by your child, you have never been a parent.” ― Bette Davis

7. “I love our daughters more than anything in the world ― more than life itself. And while that may not be the first thing that some folks want to hear from an Ivy-League-educated lawyer, it is truly who I am. So for me, being mom-in-chief is, and always will be, job number one.” ― Michelle Obama

8. “You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance.” ― Franklin P. Jones

9. “Kids are not going to do what you tell them to do or think like you tell them to think. Kids are watching how you deal with that waiter or that handyman, and they are probably more likely to imitate you.” ― Jerry Seinfeld

10. “Have patience with all things but first with yourself. Never confuse your mistakes with your value as a human being. You are perfectly valuable, creative, worthwhile person simply because you exist. And no amount of triumphs or tribulations can ever change that.” ― Saint Frances de Sales

12. “Success for me is that if my son chooses to be a stay-at-home parent, he is cheered on for that decision. And if my daughter chooses to work outside the home and is successful, she is cheered on and supported.” ― Sheryl Sandberg

13. “Never underestimate kids' tenacity. Raising a child is like wrestling a small but relentless opponent.” ― Stephen Colbert

14. “There are times as a parent when you realize that your job is not to be the parent you always imagined you'd be, the parent you always wished you had. Your job is to be the parent your child needs, given the particulars of his or her own life and nature.” ― Ayelet Waldman

15. “I only do what my gut tells me to. I think it’s smart to listen to other people’s advice, but at the end of the day, you’re the only one who can tell you what’s right for you.” — Jennifer Lopez

17. “Failing and laughing at your own shortcomings are the hallmarks of a sane parent.” ― Jim Gaffigan

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

19. “When I get up and work out, I’m working out just as much for my girls as I am for me, because 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

21. "My children are the reason I laugh, smile and want to get up every morning." — Gena Lee Nolin

Good parenting is subjective, and there's a slew of parenting advice about how to give unconditional love, teach good behavior to your child and build self-esteem. But remember that parenthood and raising children is different for everyone, and parenting advice about positive parenting (even if it's good advice) should be taken with a grain of salt.

What's your favorite parent quote or good advice you've received?

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