1. “Take some time to tell your child you like them today and list the reasons why. Then watch in wonder as they blossom before your eyes. Words of recognition and appreciation to a child are like sunshine and rain to a flower.” – L.R. Knost
2. “We are imperfect humans growing imperfect humans in an imperfect world, and that’s perfectly okay.” – L.R. Knost
3. “When little people are overwhelmed by big emotions, it’s our job to share our calm, not join their chaos.” – L.R. Knost
4. “True strength is forged in gentleness, guided by wisdom, and steeped in peace.” – L.R. Knost
5. “Want to help stop the bullying epidemic? Don’t act like a bully. Don’t hit, threaten, ignore, isolate, intimidate, ridicule, or manipulate your child. Children really do learn what they live…” – L.R. Knost
6. “YELLING silences your message. Speak quietly so your children can hear your words instead of just your voice.” – L.R. Knost
7. “Remember, you’re growing a person, not fixing a problem.” – L.R. Knost
8. “Instead of raising children who turn out okay despite their childhood, let’s raise children who turn out extraordinary because of their childhood.” – L.R. Knost
9. “Music speaks the language of the soul, penetrating into the past and resonating into the future, unearthing pain and tenderness and sorrow and joy, reminding us of our infinite fragility and extraordinary strength, reigniting our dreams and passions once again to remind us of who we are meant to be.” – L.R. Knost
10. “Healing old hurts can only begin when the children we once were feel safe enough to speak their hearts to the adults we are now.” – L.R. Knost
11. “BIG connections are created when BIG people care about the little things that matter to little people.” – L.R. Knost
12. “Our children are children for such a small season of life. Let their laughter ring out, their imaginations soar, their feet stomp in puddles, their hands clap for joy. Too soon they will grow up and out of their youthful exuberance and zest and settle into the life and routine of adulthood.” – L.R. Knost
13. “Remember, no matter the problem, kindness is always the right response. When your child is having a problem, stop, listen, then respond to the need, not the behavior. The behavior can be addressed later, after the need has been met, because only then is the door to effective communication truly open.” – L.R. Knost
14. “The most powerful force on the planet is the soul that has awakened to its purpose.” – L.R. Knost
15. “Parenting our children peacefully is a gift of peace to the world. Children learn what they live and live what they learn.” – L.R. Knost
16. “Many believe that parenting is about controlling children’s behavior and training them to act like adults. I believe that parenting is about controlling my own behavior and acting like an adult myself. Children learn what they live and live what they learn.” – L.R. Knost
17. “Do not be dismayed by the brokenness of the world. All things break. And all things can be mended. Not with time, as they say, but with intention. So go. Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally. The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is you.” – L.R. Knost
18. “We don’t lose ourselves in parenthood. We find parts of ourselves we never knew existed.” – L.R. Knost
19. “Some say they get lost in books, but I find myself, again and again, in the pages of a good book. Humanly speaking, there is no greater teacher, no greater therapist, no greater healer of the soul, than a well-stocked library.” – L.R. Knost
20. “One day your child will make a mistake or a bad choice and run to you instead of away from you and in that moment you will know the immense value of peaceful, positive, respectful parenting.” – L.R. Knost
21. “It’s not our job to toughen our children up to face a cruel and heartless world. It’s our job to raise children who will make the world a little less cruel and heartless.” – L.R. Knost
22. “Taking care of myself doesn’t mean ‘me first.’ It means ‘me, too.” – L.R. Knost
23. “It will take just one generation choosing gentle, compassionate, respectful parenting to change the world for all future generations. This is our time. Our chance is now. Let’s do our part to change the world, one little heart at a time.” – L.R. Knost
24. “Respecting a child teaches them that even the smallest, most powerless, most vulnerable person is worthy of respect. And that is a lesson our world desperately needs to learn.” – L.R. Knost
25. “Forget that old adage ‘forgive and forget.’ It’s an impossible standard. The human heart never forgets its pain. We can and often do choose to forgive and heal and move on. But the scars remain. Like words pounded out on an old typewriter leave impressions that can never truly be erased, the heart remembers.” – L.R. Knost
26. “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
27. “You’re going to make mistakes as a parent. It’s literally inevitable. You’re human, and mistakes are just part of being human. It’s how you handle your mistakes that matters most. Acknowledge them. Apologize for them. Make them as right as possible. Learn something from them. And then let them go. It’s okay. I promise. After all, how else will our little humans learn that it’s okay to be human.” – L.R. Knost
28. “To need to be seen, to be heard, to be understood, is simply to be human.” – L.R. Knost
29. “Sticks and stones may break bones, but words can shatter souls. Choose carefully the words you say to others. Choose wisely the words you say to yourself. Words have a way of becoming truths we believe about ourselves. And what we believe, we become.” – L.R. Knost
30. “Keep working on you. Remind yourself that it’s your emotions and experiences and expectations that are causing your outbursts, not your little one’s behavior.” – L.R. Knost
31. “For a child, it is in the simplicity of play that the complexity of life is sorted like puzzle pieces joined together to make sense of the world.” – L.R. Knost
32. “Giving our children rest means being their safe harbor, their place to retreat when life hurts and the world looms large and people disappoint and mistakes are made. Becoming that safe harbor means being free ~ freely available, freely offered, freely welcoming.” – L.R. Knost
33. “Life is amazing. And then it’s awful. And then it’s amazing again. And in between the amazing and awful it’s ordinary and mundane and routine. Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary. That’s just living heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life. And it’s breathtakingly beautiful.” – L.R. Knost
34. “If life is what we make it, let’s make it beautiful.” – L.R. Knost
35. “Little eyes watch what we do far more than little ears hear what we say. It is how we live, not how we demand they live, that has the most impact on who our children will become.” – L.R. Knost
36. “When life feels too big to handle, go outside. Everything looks smaller when you’re standing under the sky.” – L.R. Knost
37. “Let love always lead you to listen more deeply, understand more fully, connect more securely, forgive more freely, communicate more clearly, and respond more gently.” – L.R. Knost
38. “People always say, “Choose your battles,” in parenting. Let’s choose peace, instead. After all, our children aren’t our enemies, and childhood shouldn’t be a battleground.” – L.R. Knost
39. “Patience is an inner pause, a brief stillness, a moment we give ourselves to breathe through our initial reaction so we can move to the place where a calm, thoughtful response is born. Patience is a gift of time we give ourselves so we can give the gift of peace to others.” – L.R. Knost
40. “No matter the problem, kindness is always the right response.” – L.R. Knost