Parenting

275+ Quotes About Mothers, Because Every Day Is Mother's Day

by Team Scary Mommy

Updated: May 6, 2021

Originally Published: April 8, 2020

Thomas Barwick/ Getty

A mother’s love and devotion are a constant, and her stability is the light at the end of every dark tunnel. But that doesn’t mean you should take her for granted. Motherhood is hard, y’all! You should get in the habit of telling mom just how much she means to you every day. Maybe even drop a sweet mom jokes here and there. But there’s nothing like a poignant quote about mothers and motherhood to truly capture what you’re trying to say. In fact, according to the latest data available to us, searches for “mother quotes” soar above the competition with nearly 201,000 searches a month.

Obviously, not everyone is a wordsmith or a poet, so we’ve rounded up the most touching quotes and sayings about mothers, a mom’s love, and her unwavering strength from some of the most famous literary giants. And while some try to compare single moms, stay-at-home moms, and working moms with each other, there’s no place for that here. All moms work equally hard and are just as dedicated to their love bugs. However, if you’re looking for a specific quote or saying about either, we devoted sections to honor them specifically. Whether you’re looking for a quote to write in a Mother’s Day card or just a few kind words to make her day the rest of the year, these unforgettable lines should do the trick.

Scary Mommy

Touching Mother Quotes for All Occasions

“The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness.” — Honore de Balzac
“A child’s first teacher is its mother.” — Peng Liyuan
“A mother’s arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them.” — Victor Hugo
“When you look into your mother’s eyes, you know that is the purest love you can find on this earth.” — Mitch Albom
“The best place to cry is on a mother’s arms.” — Jodi Picoult
“We are born of love; love is our mother.” — Rumi
“He didn’t realize that love as powerful as your mother’s for you leaves its own mark.” — J.K. Rowling
“A mother is your first friend, your best friend, your forever friend.” — Anonymous
“Mother is a verb. It’s something you do. Not just who you are.” — Dorothy Canfield Fisher
“Moms are the people who know us the best and love us the most.” — Anonymous
“A mother’s love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible.” — Marion C. Garretty
“Mother’s love is peace. It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved.” — Erich Fromm
“For a mother is the only person on earth who can divide her love among 10 children and each child still have all her love.” — Anonymous
“A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take.” — Cardinal Mermillod
“I love my mother as trees love water and sunshine. She helps me grow, prosper, and reach great heights.” — Terry Guillemets
“A mother’s arms are more comforting than anyone else’s.” — Princess Diana
“Being a mom has made me so tired. And so happy.” — Tina Fey
“Little souls find their way to you whether they’re from your womb or someone else’s.” — Sheryl Crow
“Having children just puts the whole world into perspective. Everything else just disappears.” — Kate Winslet
“My favorite thing about being a mom is just what a better person it makes you on a daily basis.” — Drew Barrymore
“At the end of the day my most important job is still mom-in-chief.” — Michelle Obama
“If you’re a mom, you’re a superhero. Period.” — Rosie Pope
“I’ve never had more appreciation for anyone in my entire life until I became a mom.” — Chrissy Teigen
“I believe the choice to become a mother is the choice to become one of the greatest spiritual teachers there is.” — Oprah Winfrey
“Everything has changed, and yet, I’m more me than I’ve ever been.” — Iain Thomas
“There’s no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one.” — Jill Churchill
“Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.” — Barbara Kingsolver
“Being a mother is learning about strengths you didn’t know you had.” — Linda Wooten
“All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.” — Abraham Lincoln
“Motherhood is the greatest thing and the hardest thing.” — Ricki Lake
“A mother’s love endures through all.” — Washington Irving
“If I know what love is, it’s because of you.” — Hermann Hesse
“The natural state of motherhood is unselfishness.” — Jessica Lange
“Motherhood: All love begins and ends there.” — Robert Browning
“It’s not easy being a mother. If it were, fathers would do it.” — Golden Girls
“There are no rules in this house; I’m not like a regular mom, I’m a cool mom.” — Mrs. George, Mean Girls
“I didn’t know it, but I was destined to be your mama.” — Mrs. Gump, Forrest Gump
“You threaten my son, you threaten me.” — Leigh Anne Tuey, The Blind Side
“Being a mom is not a job. There are no nights off. We don’t punch in and punch out.” — Meredith Grey, Grey’s Anatomy
“I always say if you aren’t yelling at your kids, you’re not spending enough time with them.” — Reese Witherspoon
“No one told me I would be coming home in diapers, too.” — Chrissy Teigen
“I’ve conquered a lot of things… blood clots in my lungs — twice… knee and foot surgeries… winning Grand Slams being down match point… to name just a few, but I found out by far the hardest is figuring out a stroller!” — Serena Williams
“For her to say go, go make something of your life, go, go do something — that was an extremely brave thing for her to do… Those are the sacrifices, you know, that I think you do for your children, and she always did that. She always put me first.” — Charlize Theron
“To listen to people and to treat them well. That’s something she does with every person she meets. My mum’s had cancer three times, and she’s always remained charmingly free of cynicism, very open to life, and wonderfully gentle while at the same time strong. Strength does not have to be belligerent and loud.” — Russell Brand
“[My mom] is one of those people that you feel honored to meet. And no matter who you are, you fall in love with her because she is spiritual, she’s inspiring, she’s strong, she’s funny, she’s creative, she’s talented… she’s everything that I want to be.” — Beyoncé
“I need her to make me some cocoa and tell me that everything that is going badly in my life will sort itself.” — Kathleen Kelly, You’ve Got Mail
“How do I explain her? She is as respected as Mother Teresa, as powerful as Stalin, and as beautiful as Margaret Thatcher.” — Leslie Knope, Parks and Recreation
“You know every story, every wound, every memory. Their whole life’s happiness is wrapped up in you… every single second.” — Isabel, Stepmom
“Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.” — William Makepeace Thackeray
“The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.” — Theodore Hesburgh
“God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers.” — Rudyard Kipling
“Mama was my greatest teacher, a teacher of compassion, love, and fearlessness. If love is sweet as a flower, then my mother is that sweet flower of love.” — Stevie Wonder
“Life began with waking up and loving my mother’s face.” — George Eliot
“A mother’s happiness is like a beacon, lighting up the future but reflected also on the past in the guise of fond memories.” — Honore de Balzac
“The love of a mother is the veil of a softer light between the heart and the heavenly Father.” — Samuel Taylor Coleridge
“I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.” — Abraham Lincoln

Working Mom Quotes

“I am not an early bird or a night owl. I am some form of a permanently exhausted pigeon.” — Anonymous
“I think every working mom probably feels the same thing: You go through big chunks of time where you’re just thinking, ‘This is impossible — oh, this is impossible.’ And then you just keep going and keep going, and you sort of do the impossible.” — Tina Fey
“The phrase, ‘working mother,’ is redundant.”— Jane Sellman
“I’ve learned that every working woman is a superwoman.” — Anonymous
“Get rid of the guilt. When you’re at one place, don’t feel bad that you’re not at work; when you’re at work, don’t feel bad that you’re not at home.” — Katie Couric
“Life happens. Our interests change. What matters to us can shift and evolve with circumstance, age, and growth. We need to honor that, be flexible, and be true to ourselves. Making changes in our careers and lives is just that — change. It doesn’t mean throwing anything away.” — Becca Carnahan
“Any mother could perform the jobs of several air-traffic controllers with ease.” — Lisa Alther
“It’s not wrong to be passionate about your career. When you love what you do, you bring that stimulation back to your family.” — Allison Pearson
“Knowing I’ve got this beautiful baby to go home to makes me feel like I don’t have to play another match. I don’t need the money or the titles or the prestige. I want them, but I don’t need them. That’s a different feeling for me.” — Serena Williams
“My mother was the one constant in my life. When I think about my mom raising me alone when she was 20, and working and paying the bills, and, you know, trying to pursue your own dreams, I think is a feat that is unmatched.” — Barack Obama
“If I’m pursuing my goals, my kids are seeing me at my best. I am filled up, I am happy, I am not feeling empty, depleted, and therefore resentful about the fact that I’m missing out. I don’t want them to feel like I’ve sacrificed, I don’t want them to feel that burden. I always remember that a happy working woman is a happy mother.” — Shonda Rhimes
“I’m learning to feel better about asking for help, whether it’s from family or hiring help. It’s not profound, but I love my career and I don’t want to make myself feel bad about pursuing both. Just cutting myself some slack has been very helpful for me.” — Mindy Kaling
“My mom had four kids, one with special needs. She had a full-time job, and she still came home and made dinner for us every night, from scratch. It was amazing.” — Eva Longoria
“We should go after our dreams and not be apologetic about it, but it’s scary. Whether you want to work or not, you have to do what makes you a fuller person. You have to love yourself.” — Catherine Reitman
“The balancing act of motherhood and a career, and being a wife, is something that I don’t think I’ll ever perfect, but I love the challenge of it.” — Kerri Walsh Jennings
“The worst thing that we can do as women is not stand up for each other, and this is something we can practice every day, no matter where we are and what we do — women sticking up for other women, choosing to protect and celebrate each other instead of competing or criticizing one another.” — Amal Clooney
“I want her to know something that I feel is important. I love work. I love her and I love work, and I want her to know work’s a good thing. It’s not something you’re dragged off to.” — Hoda Kotb
“There’s something really empowering about going, ‘Hell, I can do this! I can do this all!’ That’s the wonderful thing about mothers, you can because you must, and you just do.” — Kate Winslet
“This struggle is real. The juggle is real. That’s why everyone should hire working mothers. They are put in crazy situations all the time and are forced to problem-solve. They are some of my most resourceful employees.” — Sara Blakely
“You cannot do everything at once, so find people you trust to help you. And don’t be afraid to say no.” — Jane Seymour
“A happy mother is a good mother, and if work makes you hum, your whole family sings along.” — Sharon Meers and Joanna Strober
“When I first became a mother I suffered from serious ‘half-ass’ shame. I felt like I was mediocre at everything. I felt so stretched and so distracted (and exhausted). I said ‘Yes’ way too often in an effort to prove that I could do it all. I’ve worked so hard over the past decade to move from ‘What will people think’ to ‘I am enough.'” — Brene Brown

Stay-at-Home Mom Quotes

“You are not a bad mom because you go to work each day. Similarly, you are not a failure because you left your career altogether. Choices regarding work and family are personal – there is no one-size-fits-all method. Anyone who tells you otherwise is wrong.” — Candace Alnaji
“Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing.” — Phyllis Diller
“If you think taking care of yourself is selfish, change your mind. If you don’t, you’re simply ducking your responsibilities.” — Ann Richards
“The fastest way to break the cycle of perfectionism and become a fearless mother is to give up the idea of doing it perfectly — indeed to embrace uncertainty and imperfection.” — Arianna Huffington
“I think moms put a lot of pressure on ourselves trying to balance it all. It’s never going to be perfectly balanced — the sooner you know this, the sooner you can relieve some of the pressure you put on yourself.” — Denise Richards
“I found that when women were able to act in line with their natural inclinations and ambitions — whether to work or stay at home — they were generally happy, and generally felt that their children were happy too. Whereas those whose natural inclinations and ambitions had been thwarted — whether they were working or stay-at-home moms — were sure that they and their kids would be better off if they changed course, and either went to work or went home. The morality of the situation — whether they felt it was good or bad for their children — derived, not from some external sense of the morality of their ‘choices,’ but from the amount of happiness generated by any given arrangement.” — Judith Warner, Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety
“I hate the phrase ‘having it all,’ because it demeans women who do stay home with their children, by implying that their lives are less than full. One of the main goals of the feminist movement is that all women should be able to make the best choices for themselves and their families, and no one should be belittled, degraded, or disregarded because of what she chooses to do.” — Kirsten Gillibrand, Off the Sidelines: Raise Your Voice, Change the World
“The time spent on family is not a sacrifice. You are living a life with choices; when you make the right ones, you have a good life.” — Laura Schlessinger
“A stay-at-home mom is a working mom. Being a stay-at-home mom is a job.” — Cobie Smulders
“I think it’s a tough road if you’re a stay-at-home mom, a working mom, if you have a partner, if you don’t. It’s the best job in the world, and the toughest job in the world all at the same time.” — Angela Kinsey
“I’m a real stay-at-home mom. I’m really hands-on. Everything else became secondary.” — Drew Barrymore
“It’s about getting the kids up and fed, getting one to school, getting the other down for a nap, going to the grocery store, picking one up from school, getting the other one down for another nap, cooking dinner… I live my life at these two extremes. I’m either a full-time stay-at-home mom or a full-time actress.” — Jennifer Garner
“It’s sad if people think that’s (homemaking) a dull existence, [but] you can’t just buy an apartment and furnish it and walk away. It’s the flowers you choose, the music you play, the smile you have waiting. I want it to be gay and cheerful, a haven in this troubled world.” — Audrey Hepburn
“No occupation in this world is more trying to soul and body than the care of young children. What patience and wisdom, skill and unlimited love it calls for.” — Isabella Alden and Mrs. C. M. Livingston
“The official line is that, after the war, women couldn’t wait to leave the offices and assembly lines and government agencies. But the real story was that the economy couldn’t have men coming home without women going home, not unless it wanted a lot of unemployed vets. So the problem became unemployed women. “How you gonna keep us down on the farm after we’ve seen the world,”‘ she ad-libs to the old World War I tune. ‘Enter the women’s magazines, and cookbook publishers, and all these advertising agencies carrying on about the scourge of germs in the toilet bowl, and scuffs on the kitchen floor, and, my favorite, house B.O. Enter chicken hash that takes two and a half hours to prepare. I can just hear them sitting around the conference tables. ‘That’ll keep the gals out of trouble.’” — Ellen Feldman, Next to Love
“The survey of the time spent in the home by most housewives established that, on average, they worked 75 hours a week, with overtime on Saturdays and Sundays. This did not take into account that a number of women were also doing part or full-time work outside the home.” — Marguerite Patten, Post War Kitchen
“Today’s ‘housewife’ is a sassy, clever, opinionated woman who faces challenges head-on and never shies from telling it like it is — all the while hoping to create a happy ‘home life,’ regardless of what kind of home she has and who lives there.” ― Brandi Glanville
“The sex-based segregation of labor is the key, to maintaining not only the family, but also the economy, because the economy would collapse like a house of cards if this unpaid domestic labor had to be paid for by somebody, either by the husband or the employer. Consider this: The employer pays the employee for his or her labor in the workplace. But the fact that he or she can come back to the workplace, the next day, depends on somebody else (or herself) doing a whole lot of work the employer does not pay for — cooking, cleaning, running the home. When you have an entire structure of unpaid labor buttressing the economy, then the sexual division of labor cannot be considered to be domestic and private; it is what keeps the economy going. If tomorrow, every woman demanded to be paid for this work that she does, either the husband would have to pay her, or the employer would have to pay the husband. The economy would fall apart. This entire system functions on the assumption that women do housework for love. ” — Nivedita Menon, Seeing Like a Feminist

Single Mom Quotes

“Just because I am a single mother doesn’t mean I cannot be a success.” — Yvonne Kaloki
“I can’t tell you how much I respect all the single parents out there doing it solo” — Jennie Finch
“In the end, I am the only one who can give my children a happy mother who loves life.” — Janene Wolsey Baadsgaard
“I hope telling the story of how I went from being a single mom to serving in the Texas State Senate to running for governor will remind others that with the right leadership in government, where you start has nothing to do with how far you go.” — Wendy Davis
“If you want to stand with me as a single mom – and I know so many of my friends and colleagues do — please don’t appropriate my burden as a way to validate your own. To suggest that you are single-parenting when you are simply solo for the weekend devalues what real single mothers do.” — Rachel Simmons
“I don’t think you necessarily have to be part of a traditional nuclear family to be a good mother. — Mary Louise Parker
“Better a loving single-parent family than a ‘conventional’ family where the parents hate each other and the father is a demagogue.” — Moby
“Mothers – especially single mothers – are heroic in their efforts to raise our nation’s children, but men must also take responsibility for their children and recognize the impact they have on their families’ well-being.” — Evan Bayh
“I value so many people who have to work full time, definitely single mothers. Their work is the hardest work. I applaud it so much.” — Molly Sims
“I think moms, single or not, put a lot of pressure on ourselves trying to balance it all. It’s NEVER going to be perfectly balanced — the sooner you know this, the sooner you can relieve some of the pressure you put on yourself.” — Denise Richards
“I didn’t plan on being a single mom, but you have to deal with the cards you are dealt the best way you can.” — Tichina Arnold
“As a single mum you’ll discover inner strengths and capabilities you never knew you had.” — Emma-Louise Smith
“Nothing you do for children is ever wasted.” — Garrison Keillor
“As a single mom, I’m juggling a lot and working long hours. Yes, it costs them a little, but what my children get in return is a mother who is energized and content.” — Edie Falco
“I was once a single mother, with very few resources, so I have a special place in my heart for women in difficult situations.” — Linda Lael Miller
“The most difficult part of dating as a single parent is deciding how much risk your own child’s heart is worth.” — Daniel Pearce
“Being a single parent made me stronger than ever before.” — Anonymous
“I want to show the example that you can be a single mother and work and handle a lot of other things at the same time.” — Christina Milian
“Remember that a single mom is just like any other mom and that our number one priority is still our kids. Any parent does whatever it takes for their kids and a single mother is no different.” — Paula Miranda
“I know it’s hard being a single parent, but I’d rather do it by myself than with someone who doesn’t want to.” — Anonymous
“I didn’t plan on being a single mom, but you have to deal with the cards you are dealt the best way you can” — Tichina Arnold
”There will be so many times you feel like you failed. But in the eyes, ears, and mind of your child, you are a SUPER MOM.” — Stephanie Precourt
”Don’t pity me because I am a single mum. Respect me for having the courage to do it alone, the strength to never give up and the love to put my child’s needs before my own.” — mysinglemummyself.com
“Mothers are the people who love us for no good reason. And those of us who are mothers know it’s the most exquisite love of all.” — Maggie Gallagher
“My mother was a single mom, and most of the women I know are strong.” — Regina King
”Respect to all mums doing double duty because of men failing to do their part as dads.” — John Mark Green
“The women whom I love and admire for their strength and grace did not get that way because shit worked out. They got that way because shit went wrong, and they handled it. They handled it in a thousand different ways on a thousand different days, but they handled it. Those women are my superheroes.” — Elizabeth Gilbert
”My children may not have everything they want in life, but they have a mum who loves them more than anything in the world.” — Anonymous
“Being a single parent is twice the work, twice the stress and twice the tears but also twice the hugs, twice the love, and twice the pride.” — Anonymous
“Being raised by a single mother, I learned to appreciate and value independent women.” — Kenny Conley
“I’m not really single. I mean I am, but I have a son. Being a single mother is different from being a single woman.” — Kate Hudson
“At the end of the day, it’s the bond you share with your child that matters, and you mommy know just how to do that.” — Anonymous
“Being a single parent is not a life full of struggles, but a journey for the strong.” — Meg Lowrey
“Being a working mother and a working single parent instills in you a sense of determination.” — Felicity Jones
“Being a single mother is twice the work, twice the stress, and twice the tears, but also twice the hugs, twice the love, and twice the pride.” — Anonymous
”Being a single parent is not a life full of struggles, but a journey for the strong.” — Meg Lowrey
“I’m a single parent. What’s your superpower?” — Anonymous
“Single moms: You are a doctor, a teacher, a nurse, a maid, a cook, a referee, a heroine, a provider, a defender, a protector, a true superwoman. Wear your cape proudly.” — Mandy Hale
“Single mums do come in for a hard time. Society is incredibly judgmental. I know this. My life has taken me down several different paths I never expected it to take me down. Not in a million years. And I know the true meaning of getting by the skin of my teeth. I do. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve got money or you haven’t, whether you’re famous or not. This is the case for all women actually, you have to carry on. You always have to carry on. And you can, because you have to.” — Kate Winslet
“Only mothers can think of the future because they give birth to it in their children.” — Maxim Gorky
“I didn’t plan on being a single mom, but you have to deal with the cards you are dealt the best way you can.” — Tichina Arnold
“Being raised by a single mother, I learned to appreciate and value independent women.” — Kenny Conley
“When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thought. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.” — Sophia Loren
”I know it’s hard being a single parent, but I’d rather do it by myself than with someone who doesn’t want to.” — Anonymous
“If you bungle raising your children, I don’t think whatever else you do matters very much.” — Jackie Kennedy
“It’s not single parenthood in and of itself. It’s more about how people parent.” — Sophie Zadeh
“Career is important, but nothing really supersedes my role as a mother.” — Halle Berry
“Don’t feel guilty about being a single mother. Patience is super important as a single mother. You do have to be a little more patient because all of the responsibility is on you…ask for help!” — Nia Long
“Being a mother is hard and it wasn’t a subject I ever studied.” — Ruby Wax
“She has to have four arms, four legs, four eyes, two hearts, and double the love. There is nothing single about a single mom.” — Mandy Hale
“Even on the days you feel like you are falling, look around. Your child’s smile will bring you right back up.” — Anonymous
“I love being a single mom. But it’s definitely different when you’re dating.” — Brooke Burns
“I don’t think I realized how stressed I was, being a single parent. It was really, really stressful. It’s not easy on anybody.” — Reese Witherspoon
”Being a single mum is twice the work, twice the stress, and twice the tears but also twice the hugs, twice the love, and twice the pride.” — Anonymous
“Did you hear? Superheroes are real. They are called single moms.” — Anonymous
“I was raised in Boston by three older brothers and a very strong and empowering single mom.” — Eliza Dushku
“When you’re sick, nobody takes care of you like your mom.” — Trisha Yearwood
“A single mom tries when things are hard. She never gives up. She believes in her family, even when things are tough. She knows that above all things, a mother’s love is more than enough.” — Deniece Williams
“A single mother has a backbone made of steel and a heart made of gold.” — Anonymous
“Even on the days you feel like you are failing, look around, I promise your kids still think you are the best mom in the whole universe.” — todaysthebestday.com
”Breath darling, this is just a chapter. It’s not your whole story.” — S.C Lourie
“Hell, even the President of the United States — four of them, in fact — were raised by single mothers. Nevertheless, mention that you’re a single mom, and all-too-many of us still have to cut through a thick, gristly layer of stigma before we’re given our proper due.” — Taraji P. Henson
“The anger and hurt you have within will only help you become stronger and more caring and protective towards your children.” — Anonymous
“I was illustrating, and I was cleaning people’s houses; I was doing whatever I could to take care of my kid as a single parent.” — Emil Ferris
“We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.” — Maya Angelou
“The best part of being a mom to me is the unconditional love. I have never felt a love as pure, a love that’s as rewarding.” — Monica Denise Brown
“Mothers are the necessity of invention.” — Bill Watterson
”Some days she has no idea how she’ll do it. But every single day. It still gets done.” — Anonymous
“Single mom or not, remember that you are the best and you are doing the best.” — Anonymous
“I had a lot of guilt as a single mother trying to raise a child. I had to go to work and Jeffrey was screaming that he didn’t want me to. You have to give yourself permission to let go of the guilt.” — Sherri Shepherd
“The loves of my life are my children and my mother. I don’t feel as if I need a man.” — Diane Keaton
“I am a single mom and I’m the breadwinner and I have to work and I have to do these things and that’s just the way it is. I don’t think my son even knows any different.” — Charisma Carpenter
“I wish I could give them everything that was a perfect little family paradigm, but I can’t. Honestly, I feel like that doesn’t even exist, or at least I try to tell myself that when I am feeling bad about not providing it.” — Mary Louise Parker
“Single parents don’t have it easy. They find a way to make it work, even when they don’t know how. It’s the love for their child that pushes them through, every single time.” — Inspirational Quotes Journal
“You make it work. You keep getting out of bed. Sometimes it’s just because you know there’s a cup of coffee downstairs.” — Michelle Williams
“I was not prepared to live as a single parent.” — Annette Funicello
“The only man in my life is my son, and it’s probably going to stay this way for a while… I go to bed wearing a very baggy one-piece cheetah suit, just because it makes my son laugh. My sexy lingerie has been locked in a drawer for a while!” — Sandra Bullock
“I think it’s really important for every mother to find their own way.” — Solange Knowles
“The most difficult part of dating as a single parent is deciding how much risk your own child’s heart is worth.” — Dan Pearce
“Gone are the days when you would sit and wait for your knight in shining armor. Be brave, be independent and believe that you can do it, and you can do a better job.” — Anonymous
“It was tough being a single mom. It was tough being in a divorce with children. Very, very hard.” — Melissa Etheridge
“Just because a single-mom usually can’t be bothered to spend much time on her make-up doesn’t mean that she has given up on romance.” — Kemmy Nola
“It’s the greatest love affair of my life, with this baby. I’m a single mom, [but] his dad is amazing and in his life. I don’t feel alone. Babies attract love…They attract people who love them.” — Minnie Driver
“It’s the only way of life I’ve known. I was raised by a single mom. I was told I couldn’t have children, so every day I am kissing the sky with happiness about it.” — Padma Lakshmi
“I decided instead of being embarrassed of my failed marriage and ashamed of being a single mother, I was going to own it. Being the best mother you can be and giving your kids the BEST life possible has nothing to do with your relationship status and you don’t have to be happily married to have a ‘picture-perfect family.’” — Amanda Stanton
“I’m always working, and I’m a single parent, so I don’t think I have time for stuff most normal people do.” — Charlie Murphy
“I was once a single mother, with very few resources, so I have a special place in my heart for women in difficult situations.” — Linda Lael Mille

“Just have faith, and know that you can make it as a single mom. It’s not always easy, but it’s not always hard.” — Stellaluxum
“[Being a single mom] is not impossible and honestly, I am the happiest I have ever been in my entire 27 years on this earth because of the best decision I ever made: to keep and raise [my] little boy on my own.” — Pheesmommy

Single Parent Quotes

“Single moms: You are a doctor, a teacher, a nurse, a maid, a cook, a referee, a heroine, a provider, a defender, a protector, a true superwoman. Wear your cape proudly.” — Mandy Hale
“I think moms, single or not, put a lot of pressure on ourselves trying to balance it all. It’s never going to be perfectly balanced — the sooner you know this, the sooner you can relieve some of the pressure you put on yourself.” — Denise Richards
“Being a working mother and a working single parent instills in you a sense of determination.” — Felicity Jones
“Remember that a single mom is just like any other mom and that our number one priority is still our KIDS.” — Paula Miranda
“As a single mum you’ll discover inner strengths and capabilities you never knew you had.” — Emma-Louise Smith
“I don’t think you necessarily have to be part of a traditional nuclear family to be a good mother.” — Mary Louise Parker
“Some days she has no idea how she’ll do it. But every single day. It still gets done.” — Anonymous
“Divorce isn’t such a tragedy, a tragedy is staying in an unhappy marriage teaching your children the wrong things about love. Nobody ever died of divorce.” — Jennifer Weiner
“Don’t pity me because I am a single mum. Respect me for having the courage to do it alone, the strength to never give up, and the love to put my child’s needs before my own.” — Anonymous
“Being a single parent is not a life full of struggles, but a journey for the strong.” — Meg Lowrey
“I know it’s hard being a single parent, but I’d rather do it by myself than with someone who doesn’t want to.” — Anonymous
“Breathe, darling. This is just a chapter. It’s not your whole story.” — S.C. Lourie
“I learned a lot from my Mom. My favorite lesson: Remember there is no such thing as a certain way to parent and to remember that you are learning along with your child — it’s ok to make mistakes.” — Regina King
“For me, already being part of a single-parent household and knowing it was just me and my mom, you’d wake up times and hope that the next day you’d be able to be alongside your mother because she was out trying to make sure that I was taken care of. But all I cared about was her being home.” — LeBron James
“I am a single parent, a working mother, an executive, and an author. My greatest accomplishment will be to raise three wonderful children.” — Ivana Trump
“I was accused by a female Malawian judge that because I was divorced, I was an unfit mother. I fought the supreme court and I won. It took almost another year and many lawyers…And looking back, I do not regret one moment of the fight.” — Madonna
“Coming from a single-parent household, I witnessed first hand the strength and courage of the single mother. I always had my father in my life, but my household was run by my mother and my grandmother. As a result, I have always had the utmost respect for women and have chosen to strongly convey that in my music.” — Raheem DeVaughn
“I was born and raised in East Los Angeles by a single mom who had three biological kids and adopted four more. I never met my dad.” — Will.I.Am
“I was really young when I divorced his father, so I raised him trying to set the best example and give him the best that I could…When people compliment me on him, on how well mannered, how charming, funny, and well-behaved he is, it makes all the sacrifices worthwhile.” — Sofia Vergara
“The credit of my good upbringing goes to my mother, who’s not only been a single parent to my brother and I, but she’s also been our manager for the longest time. Our father, on the other hand, remained elusive and away from the family for most part of our lives, which left a certain void but also made us creative and reflective.” — Kubra Sait
“The trouble with being a parent is that by the time you are experienced, you are unemployed.” — Anonymous
“There are so many joys to being a parent that when I think about the hardships… it’s hard to really come up with those as much as it is to really sort of articulate the joys.” — Katie Couric
“Passion has always been important to me. That won’t change. What changes in a woman’s perspective. I mean, I have two kids now. I’m a single parent balancing motherhood and my career. That changes the equation. ” — Jody Watley
“You can be a good mother and chase your dreams. You totally can, if you so desire.” — Anonymous
“Single mothers juggle two roles — the role of the father and that of mother — at the same time. For single mothers who just found themselves in that role, nothing prepares them, but they do it anyway.” — Anonymous
“Being a single parent made me stronger than ever before.” — Anonymous
“I would say to any single parent currently feeling the weight of stereotype or stigmatization that I am prouder of my years as a single mother than of any other part of my life.” — J.K. Rowling
“My family is blended and diverse, nutty, and loving and understanding. That’s a family.” — Sandra Bullock
“The best part of being a mom to me is the unconditional love. I have never felt a love as pure, a love that’s as rewarding.” — Monica Denise Brown
“Nothing you do for children is ever wasted.” — Garrison Keillor
“I’ve been a single parent for a long time. It reminds me of being a waitress. As you walk back to the kitchen, requests come at you from all sides. You’re doing the job of two – you have to be highly organized.” — Cherie Lunghi
“Even though single mothers might worry whether they can do it all, they still wake up and do what they need to do.” — Anonymous
“A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.” — Tenneva Jordan
“The strength of my mother is something I didn’t pay attention to for so long. Here she was, this single mom, who was part of the Great Migration, who was part of a Jim Crow south, who said, ‘I’m getting my kids out of here. I’m creating opportunities for these young people by any means necessary.” — Jacqueline Woodson
“Because your child is your first priority, you’re more selective, so in order to let someone into that world, they have to be really special. You cut out the bullsh*t that you might fall for if you didn’t have responsibilities.” — Helena Christiansen
“As a single mom, I’m juggling a lot and working long hours. Yes, it costs them a little, but what my children get in return is a mother who is energized and content.” — Edie Falco
“I had a lot of guilt as a single mother trying to raise a child. I had to go to work and Jeffrey was screaming that he didn’t want me to. You have to give yourself permission to let go of the guilt.” — Sherri Shepherd,
“Career is important, but nothing really supersedes my role as a mother.” — Halle Berry
“Only mothers can think of the future because they give birth to it in their children.” — Maxim Gorky
“If I didn’t spend a few years as a single dad, my son and I probably wouldn’t be as close as we are now.” — Anonymous
“From cleaning the house and helping the kids with homework to paying bills and entertaining the baby, single moms do it all. This is what makes single moms some kind of superheroes. And it’s for such reasons that we need to celebrate them.” — Anonymous
“Motherhood has completely changed me. It’s just about like the most completely humbling experience that I’ve ever had. I think that it puts you in your place because it really forces you to address the issues that you claim to believe in and if you can’t stand up to those principles when you’re raising a child, forget it.” — Diane Keaton
“Being raised by a single mother, I learned to appreciate and value independent women.” — Kenny Conley
“There is no fear when you choose love. The more you choose love, the more love is in your life. It gets easier and easier.” — Melissa Etheridge
“You are the everything parent. You get all the tears, the joy, the tantrums, the hugs, the disappointments. ” — Anonymous
“There are so many women out there who are single moms, really not by choice, and doing it and making it work every day. I think it’s becoming much more a part of our culture and I hope that it will become more accepted and that those women are going to be more and more appreciated, respected, and supported.” — Connie Britton
“I am a single mom and I’m the breadwinner and I have to work and I have to do these things and that’s just the way it is. I don’t think my son even knows any different. ” — Charisma Carpenter
“Shout out to the single fathers that have also taken the role of the mother. They don’t get appreciated enough for what they do.” — Anonymous
“I thought about giving up, but then I remembered who was watching.” — Anonymous
“I think while all mothers deal with feelings of guilt, working mothers are plagued by guilt on steroids!” — Arianna Huffington
“Just because a single-mom usually can’t be bothered to spend much time on her make-up doesn’t mean that she has given up on romance.” — Kemmy Nola
“I didn’t plan on being a single mom, but you have to deal with the cards you are dealt the best way you can.” — Tichina Arnold
“Shout out to all my fellow single parents who run on coffee and patience.” — Anonymous
“Breath darling, this is just a chapter. It’s not your whole story.” — S.C. Lourie
“I truly have a village supporting me. My son has godmothers, godfathers, grandparents and so many others in his life who love him as much as I do. They’re there for both of us. I may not have a mate or husband, but I’m definitely not a single parent.” — Jill Scott
“Being a Single Father is twice the work, twice the stress and twice tears but also twice the hugs, twice the love and twice the pride.” — Anonymous
“I’m a single parent. What’s your superpower?” — Anonymous
“We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.” — Maya Angelou
“Even on the days you feel like you are falling, look around. Your child’s smile will bring you right back up.” — Anonymous
“The minute your child is born, your life is changed forever.” — Nia Long
“Any single mother could perform the jobs of several air traffic controllers with ease.” — Lisa Alther
“Respect to all mums doing double duty because of men failing to do their part as dads.” — John Mark Green
“Raising a family is difficult enough. But it’s even more difficult for single parents struggling to make ends meet. They don’t need more obstacles. They need more opportunities.” — Bill Richardson
“A single mom tries when things are hard. She never gives up. She believes in her family, even when things are tough. She knows that above all things… a mother’s love is more than enough. ” — Denice Williams
“She has to have four arms, four legs, four eyes, two hearts, and double the love. There is nothing single about a single mom.” — Mandy Hale
“If you want to know what it feels like to be all things to all people, try being a single parent for a day.” — Anonymous
“Being a single mother is not an easy task. Actually, single parenthood is one of the toughest jobs in the entire world. It’s not a job for the fainthearted. It requires a lot of confidence and determination.” — Anonymous
“I want to show the example that you can be a single mother and work and handle a lot of other things at the same time.” — Christina Milian
“So far I’m not surprised by anything about being a mom. It’s all pretty great — but that’s what I expected.” — Charlize Theron
“Being a mother is hard, and it wasn’t a subject I ever studied.” — Ruby Wax
“Being a single parent is so much harder, but more rewarding, than I ever expected.” — Anonymous
“Having children is like living in a frat house — nobody sleeps, everything’s broken, and there’s a lot of throwing up.” — Ray Romano
“A single mother has a backbone made of steel and a heart made of gold.” — Anonymous
“I can make the bacon, fry it up, braid some hair and catch the football game. All at the same time. I’m superman because I have to be. And it’s the highest honor of my life. I’m proud to be a single dad.” — Anonymous
“A lot of people say, ‘Wow, you’re a single father of twin boys, that’s crazy!’ Two toddlers can get hectic, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Every day they teach me different things. The love is there. When you have a two-year-old saying every other hour, ‘Papi, te amo. Papi, I love you,’ it can’t get better.” — Ricky Martin
“As a single parent, things get tough. Then I look at the way my kids look at me — like a superhero — and it makes all the difference.” — Anonymous
“I am positive, determined to move forward with my life, bring up my babies, and do the best job I can as a mother, entertainer, and person.” — Jennifer Lopez
“People keep saying, ‘Oh poor you, being a single mom,’ but I don’t want to be pitied. I can do anything I want to do. I work, I date, I have friends. I have time for everything I had time for before. I just have an added amazing thing in my life. I have a great family and friends, and I know they’d be there if I needed help, but I feel like I’m doing fine on my own.” — January Jones
”I decided instead of being embarrassed of my failed marriage and ashamed of being a single mother, I was going to own it. Being the best mother you can be and giving your kids the best life possible has nothing to do with your relationship status and you don’t have to be happily married to have a ‘picture-perfect family.’” — Amanda Stanton

This article was originally published on April 8, 2020