30 Gentle Parenting Quotes for Encouragement and Inspiration
Today we are sharing gentle parenting quotes that will help you to be the parent you’ve always hoped to be: kind, slow to anger and calm…yet still in control. If you’ve heard of the gentle parenting movement and want to learn more then you’re in the right place.
Parenting is hard. No question there.
It’s made even harder by the fact that there seems to be a revolving door of trends in the parenting world and if you aren’t doing it “right”, according to experts, you’re gonna screw your kid up for life.
None of us wants that.
The problem is that the experts keep changing their opinions. And frequently, many of them disagree entirely.
There is one parenting “method”, if you will, that has stood the test of time.
That’s gentle parenting.
The gentle parenting style is very similar to authoritative parenting — aka the sweet spot between permissive parenting and authoritarian parenting (hint: neither extreme works!).
Today, we’re gonna tell you a little more about the core tenets of gentle parenting and then leave you with 30 gentle parenting quotes you can look to for encouragement and inspiration when the days are long (yet, the years are oh so short!).
What is Gentle Parenting?
Gentle parenting may be a new-ish phrase in the parenting world, but the principles are common sense strategies moms and dads have sworn by for generations.
They include things like empathy, understanding, and respect.
In practice, that looks like this:
- Behavior is viewed as information. When children misbehave, parents don’t rush to correct the behavior without first understanding where it came from.
- Parents approach discipline from the perspective of teaching their children to handle situations in a better way.
- Discipline has an end goal of helping children grow into kind, compassionate, and resilient human beings.
- Gentle parenting calls for firm boundaries — not a long list of rules, mind you — and enforces those both lovingly and consistently.
- Children are given autonomy and the space to make decisions, and mistakes, on their own (and learn from the results!).
- In a household where gentle parenting is practiced, parents and children work together to create an environment where the whole family can thrive.
If this parenting style aligns with your values and goals then I encourage you to read through the quotes below and share any that resonate with you.
30 Gentle Parenting Quotes for Encouragement and Inspiration
1. “Tantrums are not bad behavior. Tantrums are an expression of emotion that became too much for the child to bear. No punishment is required. What your child needs is compassion and safe, loving arms to unload in.” — Rebecca Eanes
2. “Take the time to listen to children. Believe what they tell you about themselves.” — Issa Waters
3. “Things may seem really crazy and hard with your kids right now, but someday you’re going to miss this!” — Amy Stasney
4. “When our little people are overwhelmed by big emotions it’s our job to share our calm, not join their chaos.” — L.R. Knost
5. “Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work.” —C.S. Lewis
6. “The world has become obsessed with finding ways to make babies entertained, settle themselves, sleep longer, and sleep alone. Nothing can truly replace the connection and affection of a human being.” — Kirsty Lee
7. “Free the child’s potential and you will transform him into the world.” — Maria Montessori
8. “Speak with your children as if are the wisest, kindest, most beautiful humans on earth, for what they believe is what they will become.” — Brooke Hampton
9. “The way we talk to children becomes their inner voice.” ― Peggy O’Mara
10. “At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child’s success is the positive involvement of parents.” — Jane D. Hull
11. “Gentle parenting doesn’t involve instantaeous results, but naturally achieved, life-long, lasting results.” — Kirsty Lee
12. “If your children fear you, they cannot trust you. If they don’t trust you, they cannot learn from you.” — Lori Petro
13. “Kids need to be in charge of their own lives, not boxed in by adult baggage.” — Issa Waters
14. “We must remember that one day our children are going to follow our example instead of our advice.” — Carolina King
15. “No matter how far we come, our parents are always in us.” — Brad Meltzer
16. “I choose gentleness. If I raise my voice, may it be only in praise. If I clench my fists, may it be only in prayer.” — Max Lucado
17. “One generation of deeply loving parents would change the brain of the next generation, and with that, the world.” — Charles Raison
18. “Parenting is a life time job and does not stop when a child grows up.” — Jake Slope
19. “It is 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
20. “Let’s raise children who won’t have to recover from their childhood.” — Pam Leo
21. “When a child can’t calm down they need connection and comfort, not criticism and control.” — Jane Evans
22. “Children must never work for our love, they must rest in it.” — Gordon Neufeld
23. “Your words as a parent have great power. Use them wisely and make sure they come from the heart.” — Carolina King
24. “Discipline is helping a child solve a problem. Punishment is making a child suffer for having a problem. To raise problem-solvers, focus on solutions not retribution.” — L.R. Knost
25. “Be curious, not judgmental.” — Walt Whitman
26. “Parents are teachers, guides, leaders, protectors, and providers for their children.” — Iyala Vanzant
27. “If you want your children to improve, let them overhear the nice things you say about them to others.” — Haim Ginott
28. “We are all imperfect parents and tha’s perfectly okay. Tiny humans need connection not perfection.” — L.R. Knost
29. “I have yet to meet a parent who hasn’t failed yet, but the great parents are the ones who learned from their mistakes.” — Kara Carrero
30. “It is one thing to show your child the way, and a harder thing to stay out of it.” — Robert Brault
More Parenting Quotes
Conclusion
I hope these quotes and sayings have inspired you to be the best parent that you can be.
Parenting is a journey full of mistakes that we learn from and none of us are perfect. Just remember to be gentle with yourself as well as your children.
