This Post: 75 Hilarious and Relatable Quotes About Parenting Teens
Co-Written By: Nancy Reynolds & Amannda Maphies
Can we all agree that parenting teenagers is a wild ride? Before our kids became teens we thought to ourselves, “How hard could this possibly be?” Well… for most of us, it’s A LOT more challenging, chaotic, heart-tugging (and, dare I say… FUN!) than we could have ever imagined.
We might laugh, cry, get angry, feel worried, or become head-shakingly frustrated (all in the span of a half hour!) but we love our hormone-swinging, boundary-pushing, sometimes sassy kids with everything we’ve got and take such immense joy in watching them spread their wings in preparation for the biggest flight of their lives: Adulthood.
These quotes sum up what it feels like to be a parent of teens.
Some are hilarious. Some will make you nod your head and say, “Yep, I can relate.” Some might make you tear up with reminiscent memories of when your teen was young, innocent, and adorably impressionable. And, some are merely full of truth that only a mom or dad of teens could truly understand.
Dive into these relatable, funny, and real quotes by parents of teens, celebrities, and authors that will make you realize you’re definitely not alone…
75 Hilarious and Relatable Quotes About Parenting Teens
1. “My 13-year-old just dumped his girlfriend and now he’s attempting to get his hoodie back. He’s in for one hell of a life lesson. ” ~ TheMichaelRock
2. “Parenting teenage boys is basically spending your day asking questions like: Whose hoodie is this? What happened to all the groceries I just bought? Did you shower today? And What is that smell?” ~Jenni Brennan Changing Perspectives Blog
3. “One of the fun things about parenting a teenager is having an emotional conversation in which you pour your heart out and share meaningful life lessons that you hope they’ll carry with them forever and they just respond with, ‘k.'” ~Dad and Buried
4. “I never really appreciated just how annoying I was until I gave birth to mini versions of myself and started arguing with them when they became teenagers.” ~Raising Teens Today
5. “I have three teenagers. I didn’t get an epidural when I gave birth, but I’d like one now.” ~Kyle Ocasio
6. “When your children are teenagers, it’s important to have a dog so that someone in the house is happy to see you.” ~Nora Ephron
7. “Welcome to parenthood. I hope you like hearing “THERE’S NOTHING TO EAT!” right after you just spent your life savings at the grocery store.” ~sarcasticmommy4
8. “To my kids: I might drive you crazy, I might annoy you, nag you and ask too many questions. But NO ONE will cheer louder, show up faster, have your back, or love you like I do.” ~Unknown
9. “They start challenging you and everything. You have this baby for a while and then it’s like your best little friend who loves being with you all the time, and all of a sudden they’re like, ‘Get out of my room.’” ~Jennifer Lopez
10. “Mom, Mother, Ma, Dude!, Bruh…..” ~Teenagers Everywhere
11. “I know I’m supposed to be preparing my teenager for life and all, but it’s hard when they already know everything.” ~Whitney Fleming
12. “WTF (Where’s The Food?)” ~FoarPake
13. “Doesn’t my teen know that when he tells me I’m embarrassing him it doesn’t make me want to stop. It makes me carry on with more intensity than before. Remember all those tantrums you threw in public, kid? WELL, IT’S MY TIME TO SHINE.” ~Mommy Needs a Life
14. “Having a teenage daughter is a lot like your house being haunted. Every now and again you’ll see a figure out of the corner of your eye, followed by a moaning sound, and then a door will slam shut.” ~Joe Heenan
15. “Having a daughter is like having a little broke best friend who thinks you’re rich.” ~Unknown
16. “Teenager: noun. 1. Someone who is ready for the zombie apocalypse but not ready for the math test tomorrow.” ~quotesgram.com
17. “One of the toughest parts about parenting a teen is having to stay awake ’til 11 pm to pick them up from an event.” ~McDad Stuff
18. “Welcome to being a parent of a teenager. Prepare for a large amount of eye-rolling, emotional outbursts, and thoughts of running away. And that’s just the parents.” ~Wanda Bates
19. “One day your teen is going to ask you to drive them somewhere for the very last time. It won’t be like this forever, mama. Make sure you slow down and enjoy this time with them while you can.” ~Raising Teens Today
20. “I am your Mom. Your argument is invalid.” ~Zulily
21. “PARENTING HACK: There are no hacks. Everything is hard. These kids don’t listen. This is your life now. Godspeed. ~ momsofyouthsports.com
22. “Just when your kid sleeps through the night and you can finally get some rest… a teenager emerges on the scene who stays up all night. ~goaskyourdad
23. “Dear Moms, it’s okay to complain about your kids without saying, ‘But I love them so much’ at the end. We know you love those little assholes to the moon and back.” ~The Salty Mamas
24. “Can’t believe I shared my body with a child that won’t even share their M&Ms with me.” ~Digital Mom
25. “My kids used to have a bedtime. Now they just tuck me in and continue doing whatever the heck they want.” ~Unknown
26. “I always say, if you’re not yelling at your kids, you’re not spending enough time with them.” ~Reese Witherspoon
27. “When I have teenagers they will never… SPOILER ALERT: They will. Oh, they will.” ~Unknown
28. “You know you’re the parent of a teenager if they don’t answer any of your calls, but they’ll call you 27 times in a row until you answer.” ~Raising Teens Today
29. “The thing you’ve got to be prepared to do as a parent is not to be liked from time to time.” ~Emma Thompson
30. “Parenting shifts as your kids shift. The best thing for me has been throwing any kind of parenting manual out of the window.” ~Kate Hudson
31. “No one tells you that the toughest part about parenting teenagers is trying to convince them that you know what the h#ll you’re talking about.” ~Raising Teens Today
32. “It wasn’t until I had a teenager that I felt the need to call my mom and apologize. Every single day. Sometimes several times a day.” ~Amannda G. Maphies
33. “Parents of teenagers understand why animals eat their young.” ~Unknown
34. “A teen will break your heart, and if you love them, you’ll let them.” ~Unknown
35. “I secretly enjoy it when my daughter is defiant because I love to see her fighting spirit. But then… I put her in her place because there’s only room for one sheriff in this town.” ~Unknown
36. “My instinct is to protect my children from pain. But adversity is often the thing that gives us character and backbone. It’s always been a struggle for me to back off and let my children go through difficult experiences.” ~Nicole Kidman
37. “Being a parent to a teenage boy is like being in an unhealthy romantic relationship. You pour your heart and soul into that kid and all you get is ‘Cool’, ‘Okay’, or ‘When’s dinner?’” ~Amannda G. Maphies
38. “Parenting without a sense of humor is like being an accountant who sucks at math.” ~Amber Dusick
39. “When you’re a parent of teenagers, it’s important to know when to stop arguing with your kids and just let them be wrong.” ~Raising Teens Today
40. “I’ll text my kids and they won’t respond for 3 hours. But if they text me and I don’t respond in 3 minutes, I get… ‘Mom,’ ‘Momm,’ ‘Mommmm?’ ‘Mommmmmm?’ ‘Where are you?’ ‘Why are you ignoring me?’ ‘MOOOOMMMMM?’ ‘HELLLLOOO MOOOMMMMM?'”~Raising Teens Today
41. “Texting your teenager is like texting someone who isn’t interested in you. ME: ‘I love you, have a great day!’ MY TEEN: ‘Ok.'” ~Unknown
42. “Teens walking into school with iced coffees. My generation smuggled vodka in water bottles. Rookies…” ~Unknown
43. “Teenagers! Don’t try to understand them, just love them.” ~Unknown
44. “When you’re a boy mom and you’re with a girl mom and she gets 14 texts and 2 calls about one outfit and you can’t remember if you’ve spoken to your son in the last week.” ~Thoughts from Aisle 4
45. “One day, you’ll look. To see them taller than you. Growing older. Growing wiser. And you’ll want to go back to when they were little. But you must move forward. Cherishing what was, what is, and what is yet to be.” ~Unknown
46. “Your kids require you most of all to love them for who they are, not to spend your whole time trying to correct them.” ~Bill Ayers
47. “Being a boy mom means your kid could be married with nine kids and you have no idea because he never mentioned it.” ~Thoughts From Aisle 4
48. “The biggest challenge of parenting teens is not adjusting them but adjusting ourselves.” ~Unknown
49. “You probably remember when you were a teenager and you gave your mom a hard time. And I don’t think it’s because they’re not good kids. They just want to know, to learn, they want answers.” ~Jennifer Lopez
50. “You know your children are growing up when they stop asking you where they came from and refuse to tell you where they’re going.” ~P. J. O’Rourke
51. “I love watching all the young moms gather at the elementary school lookin’ all cute and hip with their messy buns and yoga pants. Poor things… They have no idea that they’re going to start aging in dog years when their kids become teenagers. ~Raising Teens Today
52. “Saw a quote that said, ‘Your kids don’t need a perfect mom. They need a happy one.’ And I thought, then they should clean their bedrooms.” ~This Motherhood Journey
53. “What it’s like to be a parent: It’s one of the hardest things you’ll ever do but in exchange, it teaches you the meaning of unconditional love.” ~Nicholas Sparks
54. “Grant me the serenity to accept that my teen’s offish behavior is actually normal, the courage to face their moody days with patience (and a sense of humor), and the wisdom to know that everything will eventually turn out okay.” ~Raising Teens Today
55. “You’re panicking because your toddler has started climbing out of their crib. Wait until they pull out of your driveway behind the wheel of a car. Now THAT’S PANIC!” ~4 Boys Mother
56. “I just want to be rich enough so I don’t pass out by the cost of the name-brand hoodie my teen wants.’ ~Raising Teens Today
57. “At this point my entire philosophy for parenting teenagers boils down to ‘just don’t do stupid shit.'” ~Julianna Miner
58. “When your teenager starts to do everything they’re supposed to do without being asked the second half of your life as a parent can… oh, never mind, they only did it once and it was because they wanted something.” ~Mom Truth Bomb
59. “A mother’s job is to teach her children not to need her anymore. The hardest part of that job is accepting success.” ~Unknown
60. “While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.” ~Angela Schwindt
61. “Someday, when our kids are grown, when their bedrooms are spotless, and we don’t have to drive them to practice, we’ll finally get the peace we so desperately long for. And, I think it might just break our hearts.” ~Uknown
62. “Teens be like, my room is a disaster and I didn’t do any of my chores, but I need $20 and a ride.” ~I Don’t Speak Whine
63. “Moms who adore their children while also admitting this shit is hard are my people.” ~Mom With You
64. “Some days I simply miss who my kids were when they were younger. It has less to do with missing a particular age but more to do with me wanting to go back to that moment in time, take away any mistakes I made and slow down to hug them a bit longer and laugh with them over and over again.” ~Hang In There Mama
65. “I hope one day my kids look back and realize how hard I tried. When I was busy, I found the time. When I was exhausted, I found the energy. When I lost my patience, I apologized. When they needed me, I was there. I loved them hard every single day. I wasn’t perfect. I made mistakes. But I gave it my all every day… to be better for them.” ~Raising Teens Today
66. “I’m just wondering if some popular YouTuber could tell teenagers that it’s cool to clean your bedroom every once in a while.” ~Raising Teens Today
67. “I thought it was bad when my kids started calling me bro. Now they got me calling them bro.” ~The Mommy Talks
68. “I love how teenagers jump between being a kid and being an adult depending on their mood. One minute my kid is like, ‘Mommy, can you make me a grilled cheese sandwich and bring me my favorite blankie,’ and the next they’re like, ‘I have $146 dollars in the bank. I don’t need you or anyone else.'” ~Raising Teens Today
69. “Everyone warned me how difficult raising teens would be. And, it is. But it’s also really amazing. Teens are AMAZING. I don’t think that gets said enough.” ~Never Empty Nest
70. “Are there cheat codes for parenting teenagers? This level is really hard.” ~Raising Teens Today
71. “A chatty teen at midnight requires the same attention as a baby wanting to be fed in the middle of the night.” ~Next Talk
72. “Teenagers be like, I won’t wear a coat in the winter, but I will wear a hoodie in the summer.” ~Raising Teens Today
73. “I used to think pull-ups and baby wipes were expensive until I watched my teenager plow through $300 worth of groceries in two days. Brace yourself, toddler parents.” ~Raising Teens Today
74. “My teen throws a ton of shade for someone who depends on me for survival.” ~Unknown
75. “The heartbreak is just that she’s growing up at all. It’s heartbreaking for the mom and for the teenager, needing to have that kind of severing of this baby-mama tie. That’s what’s so hard.” ~Jennifer Garner
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