Famous Parents Quotes in English with Images

Here’s a list of famous quotes about parenting, each with an interpretation of its meaning and an example:


1. "Children are educated by what the grown-up is and not by his talk." — Carl Jung

Meaning: Actions speak louder than words. Children learn more from observing their parents' behavior than from what they are told.

Example: If a parent tells their child to always tell the truth but frequently lies, the child may learn to lie as well.


2. "It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men." — Frederick Douglass

Meaning: Investing time and effort into raising emotionally healthy children is more effective than trying to fix the damage done later in life.

Example: Teaching a child how to manage their emotions and treat others with respect can prevent issues like anger management or lack of empathy in adulthood.


3. "To be in your children’s memories tomorrow, you have to be in their lives today." — Barbara Johnson

Meaning: Building memories with children requires being actively present in their lives now.

Example: Taking time to attend a child’s events, listen to them, and spend quality time together creates lasting memories and a close bond.


4. "Your children need your presence more than your presents." — Jesse Jackson

Meaning: Physical presence, attention, and love are more important to a child than material gifts.

Example: Instead of buying a new toy, spend time playing a game or going on an adventure together.


5. "There is no such thing as a perfect parent. So just be a real one." — Sue Atkins

Meaning: Striving for perfection in parenting is unrealistic; instead, focus on being authentic and supportive.

Example: A parent might apologize to their child after making a mistake, showing them the value of honesty and humility.


6. "The best way to make children good is to make them happy." — Oscar Wilde

Meaning: A happy child is more likely to grow up kind and morally grounded.

Example: Instead of enforcing strict rules without reason, parents can create a positive environment where children feel valued and loved.


7. "Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children." — Charles R. Swindoll

Meaning: Every interaction with a child becomes part of their memory, shaping who they become.

Example: A simple habit, like reading bedtime stories, creates cherished memories and builds emotional security.


8. "The way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice." — Peggy O'Mara

Meaning: The tone and words parents use can become a part of a child’s self-perception.

Example: Praising a child’s efforts rather than just the results teaches them to value hard work and resilience.


9. "While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about." — Angela Schwindt

Meaning: Parents often learn as much from their children as they teach them, especially lessons in patience, wonder, and love.

Example: A child’s curiosity might remind a parent to slow down and appreciate the small things.


10. "There are two lasting bequests we can give our children: one is roots, the other is wings." — Hodding Carter

Meaning: Parents should provide stability (roots) and independence (wings) to prepare children for life.

Example: A parent who encourages their child’s dreams, while also teaching them family values, helps them to be both grounded and ambitious.


These quotes capture both the beauty and responsibility of parenting, emphasizing presence, authenticity, and a commitment to nurturing and guiding children.\

How simple a thing it seems to me that to know ourselves as we are, we must know our mothers' names.

- Parents Quotes by Alice Walker

By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong.

- Charles Wadsworth Quote

The world is full of women blindsided by the unceasing demands of motherhood, still flabbergasted by how a job can be terrific and torturous.

- Parents Quotes by Anna Quindlen

Sometimes the laughter in mothering is the recognition of the ironies and absurdities. Sometime, though, it's just pure, unthinking delight.

- Parents Quotes by Barbara Schapiro

The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers.  The original meal has never been found.

- Calvin Trillin Quotes

That's sort of a cliche about parents. We all believe that our children are the most beautiful children in the world.  But the thing is, what no one really talks about is the fact that we all really believe it.

- Heather Armstrong Quotes

This is part of the essence of motherhood, watching your kid grow into her own person and not being able to do anything about it. Otherwise children would be nothing more than pets.

- Heather Armstrong Quotes

What children take from us, they give... We become people who feel more deeply, question more deeply, hurt more deeply, and love more deeply.

- Sonia Taitz Quotes

The place of the father in the modern suburban family is very small one, particularly if he plays golf.

- Parents Quotes by Bertrand Russell

The place of the father in the modern suburban family is very small one, particularly if he plays golf.

- Parents Quotes by Bertrand Russell

My parents only had one argument in forty-five years. It lasted forty-three years.

- Charles Wadsworth Quotes

My parents only had one argument in forty-five years.  It lasted forty-three years.

- Parents Quotes by Charles Wadsworth

Sooner or later we all quote our mothers.

- Parents Quotes by Bern Williams

Sooner or later we all quote our mothers.

- Parents Quotes by Bern Williams

Your parents, they give you your life, but then they try to give you their life.

- Parents Quotes by Chuck Palahniuk Download or Share

If your parents never had children, chances are you won't either.

- Dick Cavett Quotes

A mother is not a person to learn on but a person to make leaning unnecessary.

- Dorothy C. Fisher Quote

The art of mothering is to teach the art of living to children.

- Elain Heffner Quotes

The gods visit the sins of the fathers upon the children.

- Euripides Quotes

There is... nothing to suggest that mothering cannot be shared by several people.

- H. R. Schaffer Quotes

For rarely are sons similar to their fathers: most are worse, and a few are better than their fathers.

- Homer Quotes

The most important thing she'd learned over the years was that there was no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one.

- Jill Churchill Quotes

The thing that impresses me the most about America is the way parents obey their children.

- King Edward VIII Quotes

Some men just aren't cut out for paternity.  Better they should realize it before and not after they become responsible for a son.

- Lois McMaster Bujold Quotes

My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it.

- Mark Twain Quotes

Parents were invented to make children happy by giving them something to ignore.

- Ogden Nash Quotes

Some are kissing mothers and some are scolding mothers, but it is love just the same.

- Pearl Buck Quotes

My father hated radio and could not wait for television to be invented so he could hate that too.

- Peter De Vries Quotes

Most turkeys taste better the day after; my mother's tasted better the day before.

- Rita Rudner Quotes

Neurotics build castles in the air, psychotics live in them.  My mother cleans them.

- Rita Rudner Quote

The reason grandparents and grandchildren get along so well is that they have a common enemy.

- Sam Levenson Quotes

It is a wise father that knows his own child.

- William Shakespeare Quotes

The first half of our lives is ruined by our parents, and the second half by our children.

- Clarence Darrow Quotes

The central struggle of parenthood is to let our hopes for our children outweigh our fears.

- Ellen Goodman Quotes