Top 60 L.R. Knost Quotes (2024 Update)

1. “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

2. “When little people are overwhelmed by big emotions, it’s our job to share our calm, not join their chaos.”

— L.R. Knost

3. “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

4. “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

5. “Taking care of yourself doesn’t mean me first, it means me too.”

— L.R. Knost

6. “Equating discipline with punishment is an unfortunate, but common misconception. The root word in discipline is actually disciple which in the verb form means to guide, lead, teach, model, and encourage. In the noun form disciple means one who embraces the teaching of, follows the example of, and models their life after.”

— L.R. Knost

7. “Gentleness is not weakness. Just the opposite. Preserving a gentle spirit in a heartless world takes extraordinary courage, determination, and resilience. Do not underestimate the power of gentleness because gentleness is strength wrapped in peace, and therein lies the power to change the world.”

— L.R. Knost

8. “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

9. “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

10. “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

11. “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

12. “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

13. “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

14. “If I leave this world with only kindness as my legacy, it will be enough.”

— L.R. Knost

15. “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

16. “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

17. “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

18. “BIG connections are created when BIG people care about the little things that matter to little people.”

— L.R. Knost

19. “The most powerful force on the planet is the soul that has awakened to its purpose.”

— L.R. Knost

20. “When life feels too big to handle, go outside. Everything looks smaller when you’re standing under the sky.”

— L.R. Knost

21. “YELLING silences your message. Speak quietly so your children can hear your words instead of just your voice.”

— L.R. Knost

22. “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

23. “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

24. “True strength is forged in gentleness, guided by wisdom, and steeped in peace.”

— L.R. Knost

25. “Until our world decides that every human matters, that everyone has a right to food and safety and freedom and healthcare and equality, it is the obligation of those privileged to have food and safety and freedom and healthcare and equality to fight tirelessly for those who do not.”

— L.R. Knost

26. “As Maya Angelou, American author, poet, and self-described Renaissance Woman, wrote, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

— L.R. Knost

27. “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

28. “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

29. “When you see a dandelion do you see a wish or a weed? When you hear a child cry do you hear a need or a demand? When you wash a sticky face do you feel blessed or burdened? As parents, our perspective determines our response, and our response determines our children’s reality. So let’s wish wishes, meet needs, and count blessings to make childhood a magical, peaceful, joy-filled reality for both our children and ourselves.”

— L.R. Knost

30. “Don’t ask yourself at the end of the day if you did everything right. Ask yourself how well you loved and then grow from your answer. Repeat for a lifetime.”

— L.R. Knost

31. “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

32. “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

33. “What if I told you that what the world needs right now is you – flawed, fumbling, wounded, trying-to-figure-it-all-out you? Because that’s exactly what it needs, you know – more velveteen-real people who are a little worn and a little weary, but who bring a whole lot of warm and welcoming and wonderful to life.”

— L.R. Knost

34. “No matter the problem, kindness is always the right response.”

— L.R. Knost

35. “We are imperfect humans growing imperfect humans in an imperfect world, and that’s perfectly okay.”

— L.R. Knost

36. “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

37. “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

38. “Becoming a parent doesn’t make you less of a woman. You matter. Your happiness matters. Your health matters. Your dreams matter. Today do at least one thing for you. Take a walk in the rain. Meet a friend for coffee. Write in your journal. Read a book. Plan a trip. Hug a tree. Help a stranger. Create something. Grow something. Sing something. Learn something. Whatever it is that makes you smile, do a little of it each day. Your children are watching. Let them see you happy.”

— L.R. Knost

39. “If life is what we make it, let’s make it beautiful.”

— L.R. Knost

40. “To need to be seen, to be heard, to be understood, is simply to be human.”

— L.R. Knost

41. “Protecting our children from the cruelty of the world doesn’t mean shielding them from the realities of the world. Tell them the truth. Teach them to care. Give them a voice. Prepare them not to withstand the world, but to change the world.”

— L.R. Knost

42. “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

43. “The job of each generation is to solve more problems than they create and to lift up the next generation to be better than the last. Simply repeating the past does neither.”

— L.R. Knost

44. “The ultimate gift we can give the world is to grow our tiny humans into adult humans who are independent thinkers, compassionate doers, conscious questioners, radical innovators, and passionate peacemakers. Our world doesn’t need more adults who blindly serve the powerful because they’ve been trained to obey authority without question. Our world needs more adults who question and challenge and hold the powerful accountable.”

— L.R. Knost

45. “The moment you realize that you aren’t creating a cut-and-paste version of yourself, but rather nurturing a stunningly unique individual with thoughts and feelings and hopes and fears and opinions and preferences and plans and interests of their own is the moment parenting becomes an adventure instead of a challenge. It’s a simple shift in perspective that creates a world of difference.”

— L.R. Knost

46. “Remember, you’re growing a person, not fixing a problem.”

— L.R. Knost

47. “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

48. “Children need to know that they matter, that someone in this big, scary, beautiful world thinks that they are the sun, moon, and stars all rolled into one lovable little human. The world will hurt and disillusion them at times, no doubt, but knowing that they are loved beyond measure by someone who’s got their back, knowing they are not alone, knowing they always have arms to run to when they’re hurt or afraid, will help them to pick themselves up and move on, again and again and again.”

— L.R. Knost

49. “Join them in their world when they’re little so you’ll be welcome in their world when they get big.”

— L.R. Knost

50. “Focus more on who your child is than what your child does. Remember, you’re growing a person, not fixing a problem.”

— L.R. Knost