In my book, The Patient Parent, there are a few quotes that pack a huge amount of parenting wisdom into a few lines. Here’s a selection of some of the best to inform your parenting.

This one is from Shane Parrish of Farnam Street blog, the conversation with him was really thought provoking. It reminds me to think about how to make the most of the time I have with my kids. 

This is from a Mike Skinner song. It helps me get out of negative thought loops. Maybe not his best song, but that lyric is killer. 

This is from Barbara Coloroso, a 70-year-old parenting guru. There’s so much in those 13 words. It often feels like the opposite to how most people parent today and makes life so much easier because if you’re not always on them, you’ve got space for you and they have space for them. 

Viktor Frankl. Holocaust survivor. The hardest earned wisdom. I find this helps me choose to do the right thing rather than the thing I feel triggered or pushed to do. 

David Hieatt this one. A serial founder of cool companies like DO lectures and books, Huit Denim and Howies. A straight to the point quote about being a good role model and getting what you give. 

This is from Brett Earle, a celebrity stylist. I’m quite a level, practical guy, I’m not the life and soul of the party, or a big character. So this one’s particularly important, and hard, because it reminds me to take the lead in finding and sharing the fun, awesome, wondrous, silly, unusual things in life.

This one’s like a slap. It always makes me stop and think about whether I’m making the most of the moment. It’s from a grandad I interviewed. He didn’t want his story published, which is fine, but I couldn’t let that thought go and he was happy to share it.