100 Inspirational Quotes for Parents to Encourage & Uplift

Kristin McCarthy, M.Ed.

As a fomer educator and mom blogger who's a mother of four, Kristin shares helpful tips and advice on a variety of topics.

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Published April 12, 2021

Being a parent is the most rewarding job in the world, but that doesn't mean it is easy! These inspirational quotes keep parents grinding it out, inspiring, encouraging, and uplifting them when they need it most.

Sentimental Inspirational Quotes for Parents

Nothing tugs at your heartstrings like your child. These quotes will remind you of what your main purpose is.

Parenthood is the hardest but most important thing that you will ever do.
For whoever needs to hear this today: Mama, you are enough.
Today she is a pain, but someday she will be your best friend.
Parenting is a rollercoaster. Sometimes it is terrifying, but other times it is a thrill.
The road of parenthood is always worth traveling down.
Nothing will inspire a parent to try harder and do better than a single look at their child.
Even in the darkest days, try to remember that the days are long, but the years are short.
Make memories today so they will cherish them when they are grown.
Tell your children you love them every single day. They need to hear it more than you think.
When it comes to parenting, remember that you are your own toughest critic.
Give your children the tools they need to become the person that they dream of being.
Whoever said, "Never let a child see you cry" was obviously not a parent.
A parent's heart has endless corners and boundless love.
Even in your lowest moments, your child thinks that you are everything.
They won't remember clean floors and perfectly folded laundry. They will remember the smiles, the laughter, and the love.
Life is full of regret, but you will never regret giving your kids your love and attention.
When you feel like you are giving them nothing: Remember that you have always given them roots and wings.
Perfect doesn't exist in parenting, and that is okay.
You will feel every emotion possible in parenthood. Embrace the experience.
No one gets a trophy in parenthood. Just do your best.

Humorous Inspirational Quotes for Parents

Parenthood is so wild and unbelievable that sometimes you can do nothing else but laugh.

What doesn't kill you will make you stronger. Hold out hope for the latter.
Being a parent suddenly means wanting to call your own parents every day just to say sorry.
The Lord makes babies cute so that you already cherish them by the time they become teenagers.
A parent doesn't realize their emotional strength until their child becomes a teenager.
If you want to get your kids' attention, pretend to be asleep.
Parenthood is a walk in the park... except the park is like Jurassic Park.
If you question your love for them, remember how many times you consciously chose not to vacuum up all of their Lego bricks. See, that is love.
Who knew that pregnancy was actually the easy part?
In parenthood, you don't have to do everything right, just pick like five things.
Being a parent means realizing that bathrooms are for hiding in.
No matter what you do in parenting, try to remember...children can smell fear.
Giving birth to your mini-me is both a blessing and a curse.
If you are wondering when you will ever get time to get anything done, the answer is in eighteen years.
If the kids are alive at the end of the day, pat yourself on the back. You did good.

Inspirational Quotes for Step-Parents

A step-parent is a special kind of parent. They chose this role...on purpose! Wow. What warriors step-parents are.

Step-parenting shows a child that somebody chooses them every single day.
If parenting is a race, being a step-parent is the ultimate marathon. Pace yourself and you'll cross the finish line.
No one knows perseverance like a step-parent.
If they gave out awards for parents, step-parents would win the Best Effort Award every time.
To watch a bond grow between a step-parent and step-child is a beautiful experience.
Being a step-parent proves that DNA doesn't make a parent, love does.
She doesn't have your eyes, but she will grow up to have your heart.
You weren't there in the beginning, but heaven knows that you will be there in the end.
There is no "step" or "half" only "family.
You are giving them a bonus parent, and that is an incredible gift.
Children can never have too much love.
They might not show it now, but someday they will be grateful that you loved them every day.
Teach them that they are a bonus, not a burden.
You are cut from different fabrics, but together you make the most beautiful cloth.
Last names mean nothing. Love, patience, and understanding mean everything.
You can't convince a step-child that you will never leave, but you can show up every day.
Step-parenting is exactly like biological parenting, except with ten times the blame and none of the credit.

Encouraging Parenting Quotes for Moms

What is there to say? Without moms the world doesn't work! Moms are often exhausted, overworked, selfless human beings. God love them.

Your child doesn't need a perfect mother, she just needs a loving one.
Mom, you are a wonder. To share love between all of your children while making them each feel like the center of your universe, that is a talent!
Working mothers refer to every single mother. Not one of them isn't working every second of every day.
She is tired, but still, she continues.
All mothers believe that they have the most beautiful child in the world. They are all correct.
Hang in there. You can get your mommy revenge by finishing off all the cookies after the kids go to sleep.
You don't have to be any "kind" of mom. Write your own rules.
If you eat every meal over the sink, then you might be a mom.
In being a mother, you have the hardest, most important job in the world.
In case anyone hasn't told you this lately: You are enough mom.
Motherhood reminds us that the hardest things in life are worth doing.
Even when you are so tired you could cry, you carry on. This is why mothers are the strongest people alive.
She asks for nothing and gives everything. Her name is mom.
The very definition of sacrifice is "mother."
With a mom by your side, everything feels possible.

Encouraging Parenting Quotes for Dads

Dads are a child's rock, protector, and teacher. They carry a lot of weight on their shoulders and should be championed.

If she says she doesn't need her father, she is lying.
Hold her hand tight now because someday you will place her hand into someone else's care.
She has ravaged your heart, your credit card, and your sanity, and your unwavering love for her is a testament to what a great father you are.
She will always need you, even if it is to come over and deal with a leaky sink.
When you feel her slipping away, remember that she loved you first.
Raise her every day to expect a man to treat her like a Queen.
Teach them how to be loved every single day.
Someday they will grow up to appreciate all of your hard work.
Believe in your children and know that you have given them a great gift.
Be the example for your kids of what you want them to become.
You are the mirror that he will use until he is grown.
Of all the things you have done in your life, know that raising your children was your greatest accomplishment.
You are flawed to the world, but you are perfect to your child.
When you feel as if you can't continue, look at your child and carry on.

Uplifting Quotes for Parents of Multiples

Raising multiples is an amazing experience that only a select few parents get to experience. Having twins or triplets is rewarding and challenging. These quotes sum up the experience perfectly.

Having twins means double the love, divide the sleep.
If all you did was keep your twins alive today, you did good.
Twin moms run on love and coffee.
Raising multiples puts you in a superhuman category.
You parent multiples, you can do anything.
Being a twin mom won't be the easiest thing you ever did, but it will be the best.
If you have multiples, you are a superhero. You can stop trying now.
Parents of multiples know the true meaning of adorable, blessed, and exhausted.
Nothing can prepare you for parenting multiples. Just do your best.
No one is up for a challenge like a parent of a multiple.
The world doesn't give you a prize for raising multiples, but it should!
Never doubt your ability to parent your multiples.
The Lord only gives us what we can handle...that saying doesn't account for multiples.
Nothing can scare you now. You are a parent of multiples.
No one multitasks like a parent of twins. You can use this in future resumes.
To the parents of multiples, remember only four words: You can do this.
Parents of twins have full hands and fuller hearts.
Parenting multiples is like having your very own secret club.
It's okay to feel like you are not doing enough. Know that you are. Know that you are loved. Know that it takes a special person to do this job.
Should you ever question what you are capable of, just think back to the day you gave birth to twins.

Uplifting Quotes for Parents of Multiples

Celebrity Quotes on Parenting

Celebrities have some strong views on parenthood. In these quotes, they prove that when it comes to motherhood and fatherhood, they are just like us.

"The thing about parenting rules is there aren't any. That's what makes it so difficult." - Ewan McGregor
"We may not be able to prepare the future for our children, but we can at least prepare our children for the future." - Franklin D. Roosevelt
"You're always going to wonder if you're doing things wrong. But that's what it means to be a mom, to care so much about someone else that you just want to be as perfect as possible." ~Naya Rivera
"Children are apt to live up to what you believe of them." ~Lady Bird Johnson
"Do what you feel in your heart to be right. You'll be criticized either way." ~Eleanor Roosevelt
"[He] has been there for the hard stuff. The trust that I got from him in terms of his dependability was just priceless for me." - Kate Hudson (about stepdad Kurt Russell)
"Men are what their mothers made them." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Becoming a mom to me means that you have accepted that for the next 16 years of your life, you will have a sticky purse." - Nia Vardalos
"Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the sidewalk before it stops snowing." -Phyllis Diller
"I believe the choice to become a mother is the choice to become one of the greatest spiritual teachers there is." - Oprah

Parenting Is the Greatest Journey in the World

Parenting is messy, taxing, and sometimes it will, indeed, bring you to your knees. Being a mother, father, or primary caregiver is not for the weak. While parents experience all sorts of unique trials, tribulations, emotions, and moments, they all have one thing in common. Through it all, it is always worth it. Being a parent truly is the greatest journey in the world. Keep it up! You are amazing.