There are days as a mom, when I sit down and wonder if I’m doing anything right. I’ll read through the parenting books and no matter what the topic is, the author will say that I’m obviously doing everything wrong. And then I’ll read the opposition’s side, and I’m doing THAT wrong too. But then as I’m reading bedtime stories to my kids, some words will strike my heart and remind me that….yes… things can be rough, but I wouldn’t trade this job for the world. Children’s literature is a fantastic treasure trove of little nuggets of wisdom and encouragement, and I think it oftentimes makes a better parenting manual than any of the books you find in the “Help me!” section at the bookstore. I’ve compiled a list of quotes that are perfect for parenting moments. Which quotes would you add to this list?
When you look in the mirror and don’t look like that 20-something person anymore.
“Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”
— Margery Williams (The Velveteen Rabbit)
When it seems like the kids couldn’t care less about whether or not you are around.
“And Max, the king of all wild things, was lonely and wanted to be where someone loved him best of all.”
― Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are
When they need you nearby. All. The. Time.
“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind.
“Pooh!” he whispered.
“Yes, Piglet?”
“Nothing,” said Piglet, taking Pooh’s paw. “I just wanted to be sure of you.”
― A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner
When you wonder if they’ll ever learn common sense.
“I taught you to fight and to fly. What more could there be?”
— J.M. Barrie (Peter Pan and Wendy)
When you face sickness, difficulties, or any of life’s trials as a parent.
“She made herself stronger by fighting with the wind.”
— Frances Hodgson Burnett (The Secret Garden)
— Beatrix Potter (The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin)
When you wonder if you’re doing enough as a parent.
“After all,” Anne had said to Marilla once, “I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.”
— L.M. Montgomery (Anne of Avonlea (Anne of Green Gables, #2))
When you try a new discipline method but feel guilty for leaving the old one behind.
“I keep turning over new leaves, and spoiling them, as I used to spoil my copybooks; and I make so many beginnings there never will be an end. (Jo March)”
— Louisa May Alcott (Little Women (Little Women, #1))
When you just finished reading the eighty-thousandth bedtime story, and they ask for another.
“Stories are light. Light is precious in a world so dark.”
— Kate DiCamillo (The Tale of Despereaux)
When your kids are being dramatic…and you feel like mocking their drama. (Tell me I’m not the only one who does this…)
“What do you mean less than nothing? I don’t think there is any such thing as less than nothing. Nothing is absolutely the limit of nothingness. It’s the lowest you can go. It’s the end of the line. How can something be less than nothing? If there were something that was less than nothing, then nothing would not be nothing, it would be something – even though it’s just a very little bit of something. But if nothing is nothing, then nothing has nothing that is less than it is.”
— E.B. White (Charlotte’s Web)
When arguments occur and you (honestly) can’t tell which kid started it.
“What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Magician’s Nephew
