23 Self-Care Quotes for Parents
Written by Kristi Yeh, LMFT
Enjoy a collection of powerful self-care quotes that can help inspire parents to honor their own needs in addition to the needs of their family.
Self-Care for Parents Definitions
“Self-care is turning some of the nurturing energy you give to your child, towards yourself.”
Read more in my book, “Self-Care 101: Self-Care Inspiration for Busy Parents” available as a hardcover or eBook. You can access a webinar featuring the top 20 ways to nourish yourself by signing up for the Parent Self-Care newsletter.
“Self-neglect is sacrificing yourself to serve others. Self-care is making sure that helping others doesn’t hurt you. Setting boundaries doesn’t mean you’re self-centered. It means you’re self-aware.”
Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist and best-selling author. Grant also has a wonderful podcast about work-life balance.
“To be a good parent, you need to take care of yourself so that you can have the physical and emotional energy to take care of your family.”
Stars, they’re just like us! I loved reading about Obama’s experience raising young kids in her memoir, “Becoming.” Obama shares how she prioritized self-care with the help of her mother, and the joy of running errands solo when you have young kids.
“Normalizing taking care of yourself, just as much as you take care of others.”
Hamm Wilson is a maternal mental health therapist and licensed social worker. Learn more on the Motherhood Redefined website.
“The fact that you crave regular time away from your kids and partner has absolutely nothing to do with your degree of love for or dedication to them. The fact that we associate having needs and wanting to thrive with seeming to love our families less, speaks of the toxic conditioning meant to keep mothers from thriving.”
Berry is the author of, “Motherwhelmed” and you can find more on the Revolution from Home website.
“Just because I can do it all doesn’t mean I have to do it all.”
Goodloe has authored three books and is a licensed clinical social worker. Visit her website to read the blog and learn about workshops.
“Choosing me doesn’t mean not choosing you. It means that I will not be everything to you and nothing to myself.”
Broussard Cade is a licensed counselor that runs a fantastic Instagram account and wonderful website. Fleurdelis Speaks also features her guided journal.
“But being a perfect parent is impossible and attempting to be one can lead to exhaustion. Our research suggests that whatever allows parents to recharge their batteries, to avoid exhaustion, is good for children.”
This quote is from the article, “Parental Burnout Can Lead to Harmful Outcomes for Parent and Child” (2019).
General Self-Care Definitions
“true self-care is figuring out what works for you, and honoring what your needs are, working within your limitations.”
Read about Róisín’s role in popularizing self-care through blogging in the article, “A History of Self-Care: From its Radical roots to its yuppie-driven middle age to its election-inspired resurgence” by Aisha Harris. Róisín’s new book, “Who Is Wellness For?: An Examination of Wellness Culture and Who It Leaves Behind” will be released in June of 2022.
“Taking care of yourself doesn’t mean me first, it means me too.”
L.R. Knost is a popular Christian parenting book author.
“Self-care is health care.”
Reading is a mother, psychologist, and prolific self-care author. Self-care is vital to our well-being, so Reading encourages us to put it in the same category as a doctor’s appointment.
“Self-compassion is the root of self-care.”
Self-compassion has three elements: self-kindness, mindfulness, and common humanity. Self-kindness is about speaking to yourself as a dear friend. Mindfulness is about seeing things clearly, trying to avoid getting swept up in a negative thought spiral or only looking at the positive. Common humanity is about realizing our human connection, particularly when it comes to making mistakes or experiencing pain. Kristin Neff is the leading authority on self-compassion. You can read blog posts, access free self-compassion activities, and learn more about her books and trainings on her website.
Barnett is a maternal mental health therapist that has specialized experience in perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.
“The root of self-care is setting boundaries: it’s saying no to something in order to say yes to your own emotional, physical and mental well-being.”
Tawwab is a licensed therapist and New York Times best-selling author of, “Set Boundaries, Find Peace.”
“Stay close to the small and free things that comfort your soul.”
Delia is a certified spiritual practitioner and author of, “Vibrate Higher Daily.”
Importance of Healthy Relationships
“When you’re not feeling like yourself and you’re burdened by life and the journey, lean on a loved one to help lighten the load.”
Delia is a spiritual writer and wellness educator. Check out Delia’s blog for more.
“Connections feel good. We can stay in compassionate connection with others by following our breath - breathing compassion in for ourselves and out for others.”
Germer is the author of, “The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion” and features many free meditation recordings on his website. Germer has co-written a workbook with Kristin Neff, and is also a leader in the field of self-compassion.
Challenging the Cultural Value of Busyness
“When we get too caught up in the busyness of the world, we lose connection with one another - and ourselves.”
Kornfield is a prolific author and meditation teacher. You can access free meditations on the website.
“If you really learn to prioritize your health, it’s likely that you’ll become less productive overall. That’s because you were always doing too much from the outset.”
Price is the author of, “Laziness Does Not Exist.” You can also listen to an interview with Price on NPR’s Life Kit, “You aren’t lazy. You just need to slow down.”
The Power of Asking for Help
“When you judge yourself for needing help, you judge those you are helping. When you attach value to giving help, you attach value to needing help. The danger of tying your self-worth to being a helper is feeling shame when you have to ask for help. Offering help is courageous and compassionate, but so is asking for help”
One of my favorite books about the courage it takes to ask for help is, “The Gifts of Imperfection” by Brené Brown.
Self-Care Activities and Ideas
“Doing nothing (resting) is self-care.”
In addition to being a New-York Times best-selling author, Tawwab runs a fantastic and educational Instagram account.
“Sometimes, all the self-care you need to refresh your soul is driving solo, 90’s music blaring and a Starbucks drive-thru.”
Tania is a blogger and mental health advocate. Follow Tania’s Instagram for more.
Self-Care is a Practice, Not an Event
“Whatever we cultivate in times of ease, we gather as strength for times of change.”
Kornfield reminds us to take good care during times of ease as well. This will help buffer parents during times of stress.
“Life keeps happening so self-care needs to keep happening.”
Psychologist and author Reading reminds us that self-care is not something to be checked off the to-do list, it’s a lifelong practice.
I hope these quotes remind you of how worthy and deserving you are of nourishing yourself. Look out for The Nourished Parent online and self-paced course coming this summer. Be sure to join the VIP Parent Self-Care email newsletter to stay up to date with the upcoming launch.
Kristi Yeh is a parent of two, and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who has been practicing in California for over ten years. She currently works in school-based mental health at a public elementary and middle school. A part of Kristi’s role entails discussing self-care with parents. Research shows that the better the adults take care of themselves, the healthier our children are at home and school.
