Teenage years – where have all the smiles, hugs, and laughter gone? Every stage of parenting has its highs and lows. As parents, we often have favorite stages in our children’s lives – newborn, toddler, school-age. But the teenage years? They might just be the hardest thing we face. It’s a wild ride filled with mood swings, bad days, and new emotions. It’s the first time our kids are navigating life with their peers, and it’s the scariest part of raising teenagers.
As moms, we know how challenging these times can be. But we also know that with love, patience, and the right support, we can guide our teens on the right path to success. That’s why I’ve gathered some of the best quotes for parents of teenagers. These words of wisdom will help us through the toughest days and remind us of the joys and rewards of raising our incredible kids.
- “A child who is allowed to be disrespectful to his parents will not have true respect for anyone.” – Billy Graham
- “A lot of parents will do anything for their kids except let them be themselves.” – Banksy
- “A parent’s love is whole no matter how many times divided.” – Robert Brault
- “A teenager out of bed at the crack of noon, hearing the truth and permanently moored in the slump on the couch, could not be accused of engaging with life.” – Michael Leunig
- “Adolescence is just one big walking pimple.” – Carol Burnett
- “Adolescence is perhaps nature’s way of preparing parents to welcome the empty nest.” – Karen Savage and Patricia Adams
- “Adolescence is the conjugator of childhood and adulthood.” – Louise J. Kaplan
- “As a parent, you need to realize that your actions speak louder than your words. Teenagers learn more from what you do than what you say.” – Unknown
- “Behind every young child who believes in themselves is a parent who believed first.” – Matthew L. Jacobson
- “Being a parent means loving your children more than you’ve ever loved yourself.” – Anonymous
- “Children are educated by what the grown-up is and not by his talk.” – Carl Jung
- “Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work.” – C.S. Lewis
- “Don’t prepare the path for the child, prepare the child for the path.” – Tim Elmore
- “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
- “Hugs can do great amounts of good, especially for children.” – Princess Diana
- “If you want your children to improve, let them overhear the nice things you say about them to others.” – Haim Ginott
- “Motherhood: All love begins and ends there.” – Robert Browning
- “Parenthood remains the greatest single preserve of the amateur.” – Alvin Toffler
- “Parenting is not about being perfect. It’s about being real, being there, and never giving up.” – Unknown
- “Parenting teenagers is a bit like watching a magician. You know there’s a trick somewhere, but you can’t figure out how they did it.” – Unknown
- “Parenting teenagers is a bit like watching your favorite TV show. You know it will eventually end, and you’ll miss it, but some days you can’t wait for it to be over.” – Unknown
- “Parenting teenagers is a delicate dance of giving them the freedom to find themselves while guiding them with love and wisdom.” – Anonymous
- “Parenting teens is a journey marked by equal parts joy and challenge. Cherish the good times and be resilient in the tough ones.” – Anonymous
- “Raising a teenager is like managing a large corporation. You need patience, persistence, and a whole lot of understanding.” – Unknown
- “Raising teenagers is like being a lighthouse. You have to stay strong and grounded while they navigate through the stormy seas of adolescence.” – Unknown
- “Raising teenagers is like playing a game of whack-a-mole. Just when you think you have one problem solved, another one pops up.” – Unknown
- “Raising teenagers is like watching a roller coaster. There are ups, downs, and unexpected turns, but it’s all part of the ride.” – Unknown
Inspiring Parenting Teenager Quotes
- “Sometimes you have to be a parent and a friend at the same time. It’s a delicate balance, but it’s worth it.” – Anonymous
- “Sometimes, the hardest part of being a parent is watching your child go through something really tough and not being able to fix it for them.” – Unknown
- “Teenagers are a different breed, but they’re also your babies, and you have to treat them with love and respect.” – Unknown
- “Teenagers are like birds in a nest: you need to let them spread their wings and fly, but be ready to catch them if they fall.” – Anonymous
- “Teenagers are like cats. They’re curious and independent, but they still need love and attention.” – Unknown
- “Teenagers are like modern art: you might not understand them, but you will always appreciate them.” – Anonymous
- “Teenagers: You have to love them in order to let them go.” – Donna Goddard
- “The art of mothering is to teach the art of living to children.” – Elaine Heffner
- “The best inheritance a parent can give to his children is a few minutes of their time each day.” – Orlando Aloysius Battista
- “The best way to guide your teenagers is to lead by example. Show them what it means to live with integrity, kindness, and respect.” – Unknown
- “The best way to keep children at home is to make the home atmosphere pleasant—and let the air out of the tires.” – Dorothy Parker
- “The best way to keep teenagers out of hot water is to put some dishes in it.” – Arnold H. Glasow
- “The best way to make children good is to make them happy.” – Oscar Wilde
- “The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.” – Denis Waitley
- “The most important thing that parents can teach their children is how to get along without them.” – Frank A. Clark
- “The quickest way for a parent to get a child’s attention is to sit down and look comfortable.” – Lane Olinghouse
- “The secret of dealing successfully with a child is not to be its parent.” – Mell Lazarus
- “The thing about parenting rules is there aren’t any. That’s what makes it so difficult.” – Ewan McGregor
- “There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings.” – Hodding Carter Jr.
- “There’s no way to be a perfect parent, but there are a million ways to be a good one.” – Jill Churchill
- “To be in your children’s memories tomorrow, you have to be in their lives today.” – Barbara Johnson
- “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
- “What it’s 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
- “Your children need your presence more than your presents.” – Jesse Jackson
- “Behind every young child who believes in themselves is a parent who believed first.” – Sue Atkins
- “Children are the most avid readers and the most attentive audience we have.” – Marshall McLuhan
- “Don’t forget to teach your children the importance of self-care by modeling it yourself.” – Sue Atkins
- “Give your children the kind of unconditional love and acceptance that will help them feel confident and secure.” – Sue Atkins
- “Parents can make or break a child, both in terms of their moral and intellectual development.” – Marshall McLuhan
- “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
- “Remember you are not managing an inconvenience. You are raising a human being.” – Sue Atkins
- “The child is an extension of the family, just as the family is an extension of the community.” – Marshall McLuhan
- “There is no such thing as a perfect parent. So just be a real one.” – Sue Atkins
- “Your children need you to love them for who they are, not spend your whole time trying to fix them.” – Sue Atkins
- A child is a person who is going to carry on what you have started. They are going to sit where you are sitting, and when you are gone, attend to those things which you think are important. You may adopt all the policies you please, but how they are carried out depends on them. They will assume control of your cities, states, and nation. They are going to move in and take over your churches, schools, universities, and corporations. The fate of humanity is in their hands. – Abraham Lincoln
Funny Quotes for Parents of Teens
- “Raising teenagers is like being pecked to death by a chicken.” – Unknown
- “Raising teenagers is like trying to keep a bunch of frogs in a wheelbarrow.” – Unknown
- “Teenagers are like toddlers, but with bigger bodies, bigger attitudes, and bigger vocabulary.” – Unknown
- “The best way to get your teenager’s attention is to sit down and look comfortable.” – Unknown
- “There’s nothing like a teenager to make you feel old.” – Unknown
- “Why do grandparents and grandchildren get along so well? They have the same enemy—the parents.” – Claudette Colbert
- “Having a teenager is like having a cat that only comes out to eat and hisses when you try to be nice to it.” – Unknown
- “Having one child makes you a parent; having two makes you a referee.” – David Frost
- “I used to have functioning brain cells, but I traded them in for children.” – Unknown
- “My teenage daughter is not going to ruin my life. I am. She’s just going to help.” – Unknown
- “Parenting a teenager is like trying to put together an IKEA dresser without instructions.” – Unknown
- “Parenting teens is like a roller coaster. There are ups, downs, and sometimes you just want to throw up.” – Unknown
Inspiring Quotes for Low self-esteem
- “A child’s mind is not a container to be filled, but rather a fire to be kindled.” – Dorothea Brande
- “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” – William James
- “Behind every young child who believes in themselves is a parent who believed first.” – Matthew Jacobson
- “Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.” – Christian D. Larson
- “Children are apt to live up to what you believe of them.” – Lady Bird Johnson
- “Children learn more from what you are than what you teach.” – W.E.B. Du Bois
- “Children need models rather than critics.” – Joseph Joubert
- “Encourage your children to see the world through their own eyes, for that is where their true potential lies.” – Unknown
- “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’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not.” – Hanoch McCarty
- “Love yourself first, because that’s who you’ll be spending the rest of your life with.” – Unknown
- “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
- “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” – Confucius
- “Our job is not to toughen our children up to face a cruel and heartless world. Our job is to raise children who will make the world a little less cruel and heartless.” – L.R. Knost
- “Self-esteem is as important to our well-being as legs are to a table. It is essential for physical and mental health and for happiness.” – Louise Hart
- “Self-worth comes from one thing—thinking that you are worthy.” – Wayne Dyer
- “The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease forever to be able to do it.” – J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
- “The most powerful way to change the world is to live in front of our children the way we would like the world to be.” – Graham R. White
- “The way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice.” – Peggy O’Mara
- “To be in your children’s memories tomorrow, you have to be in their lives today.” – Barbara Johnson
- “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.” – Malcolm S. Forbes
- “When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have fun, you can do amazing things.” – Joe Namath
- “When you see someone putting on his Big Boots, you can be pretty sure that an Adventure is going to happen.” – A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh
- “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” – A.A. Milne
- “You have been criticizing yourself for years, and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” – Louise Hay
- “You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” – Buddha
- “Your child is a work in progress. Be patient with yourself and them.” – Unknown
- “Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.” – Nido Qubein
inspiring parenting quotes for parents with Teenage Sons
- “A boy is a magical creature—you can lock him out of your workshop, but you can’t lock him out of your heart.” – Allan Beck
- “A father is someone you look up to no matter how tall you grow.” – Unknown
- “A mother’s love for her son is different from her love for her daughter. It’s not better or worse, just different.” – Unknown
- “Boys are beyond the range of anybody’s sure understanding, at least when they are between the ages of 18 months and 90 years.” – James Thurber
- “Boys are found everywhere—on top of, underneath, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around, or jumping to.” – Alan Marshall Beck
- “Raising a boy is like trying to tame a hurricane.” – Unknown
- “Raising boys has made me a more generous woman than I really am.” – Marianne Eddington
- “Son, you will outgrow my lap, but never my heart.” – Unknown
- “The greatest mark of a father is how he treats his children when no one is looking.” – Dan Pearce
- “To be the father of growing sons is to understand something of what Yeats evokes with his imperishable phrase ‘terrible beauty.'” – John Thorn
- It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. – Frederick Douglass
inspiring parenting quotes for parents with Teenage Daughters
- “A daughter is a miracle that never ceases to be miraculous.” – Unknown
- “A daughter is a treasure and a cause of sleeplessness.” – Ben Sirach
- “A daughter is God’s way of saying ‘thought you could use a lifelong friend.'” – Unknown
- “A daughter is one of the most beautiful gifts this world has to give.” – Laurel Atherton
- “A daughter is someone you laugh with, dream with, and love with all your heart.” – Unknown
- “A daughter is the happy memories of the past, the joyful moments of the present, and the hope and promise of the future.” – Unknown
- “A daughter may outgrow your lap, but she will never outgrow your heart.” – Unknown
- “A mother’s treasure is her daughter.” – Catherine Pulsifer
- “Raising a daughter is like growing a flower. You give it your best every day and watch it bloom into something beautiful.” – Unknown
- “Raising a teenage daughter is like trying to thread a needle while walking on a tightrope.” – Unknown
- “Raising daughters is an endless journey of love, laughter, and learning.” – Unknown
- “The love between a mother and daughter is forever.” – Unknown
- “There is nothing as powerful as a mother’s love, and nothing as healing as a child’s soul.” – Unknown
- “There’s no better feeling than making your little girls laugh.” – Jerry O’Connell
- “To my daughter: Never forget that I love you. Life is filled with hard times and good times. Learn from everything you can. Be the woman I know you can be.” – Unknown
Insightful Quotes for Young Moms
- “As a teenage mother, you’re not just raising a child; you’re raising a future adult. Your dedication now will shape their tomorrow.” – Unknown
- “Being a teenage mother is a challenge, but it also gives you strength you never knew you had.” – Unknown
- “Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Parenting is a journey, and it’s okay to seek support along the way.” – Unknown
- “It’s not about being perfect; it’s about being there, listening, and showing them you care.” – Unknown
- “Raising a teenager is like trying to build a plane while it’s flying.” – Unknown
- “Raising a teenager is like trying to hold on to a handful of sand. The harder you squeeze, the more it slips through your fingers.” – Unknown
- “Teenagers are like teabags. You never know how strong they are until you put them in hot water.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
- “The best thing you can do as a teenage mother is to show your child the love and determination it takes to overcome challenges.” – Unknown
- “The greatest gift you can give your child is your time and attention.” – Unknown
- “You may be young, but your love and dedication to your child can move mountains.” – Unknown
