Parenting

100+ Positive Single Parent Quotes On Love, Dedication, And Strength

by Team Scary Mommy
Updated: 
Originally Published: 
Mother and child in a field with balloons
Photo by Randy Rooibaatjie on Unsplash

People end up as single parents for a variety of reasons. And though it may be challenging at times, kick-ass single moms and dads have been raising amazing, well-grounded children since basically forever. So if you’re looking for a positive or inspiring quote or saying about single parenthood, we’ve rounded up 101 of the best single parent quotes from writers and celebrities that show just how special and important they are.

RELATED: Famous Parenting Quotes That Will Have You Cry Laughing Through Diaper Changes

Single parents make a two-person job look easy. Despite being a solo act, they still manage to support their kids. Parenting is a tough job, but imagine doing it alone. If you’re a single parent who needs a pep talk now and then, check out these quotes below. Hearing from other moms and dads who share your struggles can help lift your spirit on the hard days.

  1. “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
  2. “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
  3. “Being a working mother and a working single parent instils in you a sense of determination.” – Felicity Jones
  4. “Remember that a single mom is just like any other mom and that our number one priority is still our KIDS.” — Paula Miranda
  5. “As a single mum you’ll discover inner strengths and capabilities you never knew you had.” – Emma-Louise Smith
  6. “I don’t think you necessarily have to be part of a traditional nuclear family to be a good mother.” – Mary Louise Parker
  7. “Some days she has no idea how she’ll do it. But every single day. It still gets done.” – Anonymous
  8. “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
  9. “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
  10. “Being a single parent is not a life full of struggles, but a journey for the strong.” – Meg Lowrey
  11. “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
  12. “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
  13. “Breathe darling, this is just a chapter. It’s not your whole story.” – S.C. Lourie
  14. “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

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  1. “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
  2. “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
  3. “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
  4. “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
  5. “If you bungle raising your children, I don’t think whatever else you do matters very much.” – Jackie Kennedy
  6. “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
  7. “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
  8. “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
  9. “I was living as a young single mom. I was 19 when I was divorced, and my daughter was a year old, and I waited tables here three to four nights a week for several years while I was trying to support myself and my daughter and the day I got that acceptance at Harvard Law School was an unforgettable day.”- Wendy Davis
  10. “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
  11. “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
  12. “The trouble with being a parent is that by the time you are experienced, you are unemployed..” – Anonymous
  13. “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
  14. “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
  15. “Just because I’m a single mother it doesn’t mean I can’t be a success..” – Yvonne Kaloki
  16. “You can be a good mother and chase your dreams. You totally can, if you so desire..” – Anonymous
  17. “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
  18. “Being a single parent made me stronger than ever before.” – Anonymous
  19. “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
  20. “My family is blended and diverse, nutty, and loving and understanding. That’s a family.”
  21. “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
  22. “Nothing you do for children is ever wasted..” – Garrison Keillor
  23. “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 organised.” – Cherie Lunghi
  24. “Even though single mothers might worry whether they can do it all, they still wake up and do what they need to do.” – Anonymous
  25. “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
  26. “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
  27. “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
  28. “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
  29. “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,
  30. “Career is important, but nothing really supersedes my role as a mother.” — Halle Berr
  31. “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
  32. “Only mothers can think of the future because they give birth to it in their children.”- Maxim Gorky
  33. “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
  34. “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
  35. “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
  36. “Being raised by a single mother, I learned to appreciate and value independent women.” – Kenny Conley
  37. “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
  38. “You are the everything parent. You get all the tears, the joy, the tantrums, the hugs, the disappointments. ” – Anonymous
  39. “Even though single mothers might worry whether they can do it all, they still wake up and do what they need to do.” – Anonymous
  40. “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
  41. “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
  42. I was a single mom that raised two bright, beautiful, and compassionate girls. – Connie Stevens
  43. “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 organised.” – Cherie Lunghi
  44. “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
  45. “Shout out to the single father’s that have also taken the role of the mother. They don’t get appreciated enough for what they do..” – Anonymous
  46. “I thought about giving up.. but then I remembered who was watching.” – Anonymous
  47. “I think while all mothers deal with feelings of guilt, working mothers are plagued by guilt on steroids!” – Arianna Huffington
  48. “I can’t tell you how much I respect all the single parents out there doing it solo” – Jennie Finch
  49. “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
  50. “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
  51. “Shout out to all my fellow single parents who run on coffee and patience.” — Unknown
  52. “Breath darling, this is just a chapter. It’s not your whole story.” – S.C. Lourie
  53. “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
  54. “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
  55. “I’m a single parent. What’s your superpower?” – Anonymous
  56. “We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.” – Maya Angelou
  57. “Even on the days you feel like you are falling, look around. Your child’s smile will bring you right back up.” – Anonymous
  58. “I hate it when my friends get mad at me for not going out like it will change anything. I can’t always do what I want, I have to prioritise and be responsible for my little girl..” – Anonymous
  59. “The minute your child is born, your life is changed forever.” — Nia Long
  60. “Any single mother could perform the jobs of several air traffic controllers with ease.” – Lisa Alther
  61. “Respect to all mums doing double duty because of men failing to do their part as dads.” – John Mark Green
  62. “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
  63. “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
  64. “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
  65. “I know how to do anything, I’m a mom..“ – Roseanne Barr
  66. “If you want to know what it feels like to be all things to all people, try being a single parent for a day.” — Unknown
  67. “It’s not single parenthood in and of itself. It’s more about how people parent.” – Sophie Zadeh
  68. “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
  69. “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
  70. “So far I’m not surprised by anything about being a mom. It’s all pretty great — but that’s what I expected.”
  71. “Being a Mother is hard and it wasn’t a subject I ever studied.” – Ruby Wax
  72. “What is free time? I’m a single mother. My free moments are filled with loving my little girl..” –Roma Downey
  73. “Being a single parent is so much harder, but more rewarding, than I ever expected.” — Unknown
  74. “When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child..“ – Sophia Loren
  75. “Having children is like living in a frat house – nobody sleeps, everything’s broken, and there’s a lot of throwing up.” – Ray Romano
  76. “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
  77. “A single mother has a backbone made of steel and a heart made of gold.” – Anonymous
  78. “I feel like I put my personal life on hold as a single dad, but I only get one chance with my daughter..” – Anonymous
  79. “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
  80. “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
  81. “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.” — Unknown
  82. “In truth, I am a single mother. But I don’t feel alone at all in parenting my daughter. Krishna has a whole other side of her family who loves her, too. And so Krishna is parented by me, but also by her grandmother and aunts and cousins and uncles and friends.” — Padma Lakshmi
  83. “Go, ‘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
  84. “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
  85. “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
  86. ”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
  87. “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

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