50 Inspirational Quotes for Kids

Choosing inspirational quotes for kids is all about finding that sweet spot. You know? Where motivation and non-cringey meet. This can be easier said than done.
Sure, you’ve cultivated your own set of go-to’s for troubling times, but what appeals to you and what appeals to your little human are oftentimes two very different things.

Many a mama has had the experience of trying to inspire, only to be met with a raised eyebrow, a condescending giggle, or even a groan. Yup, tough crowd.

On the flip side, finding quotes for kids that nudge them into productivity, power, and passion can be a real parenting win.

With that in mind, we’ve put together a toolkit of inspiring quotes for kids to whip out in a variety of circumstances—from big events to meltdowns to conversations around diversity and inclusion.

50 motivational quotes for kids

10 Inspiring quotes for kids who have had a bad day

“There is always light.
Only if we are brave enough to be it.” ― Amanda Gorman
“I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.” — Maya Angelou
“I avoid looking forward or backward, and try to keep looking upward.” — Charlotte Bronvtë
“If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
“Just keep swimming.” — Dory from Finding Nemo
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” — Thomas Edison
“It’s always too soon to quit.” — Norman Vincent Peale
“And why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves back up again.” — Batman Begins
“The very things that hold you down are going to lift you up.” — Timothy Mouse, Dumbo
“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.” ― Mary Anne Radmacher

10 Motivational quotes for kids before a big day

“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease forever to be able to do it.”
― J.M. Barrie, The Complete Adventures of Peter Pan
“Never give up on what you really want to do. The person with big dreams is more powerful than one with all the facts.” ― Albert Einstein
“Just believe in yourself. Even if you don’t, pretend that you do and, at some point, you will.” — Venus Williams
“The people who are crazy enough to believe they can change the world are the ones who do.” — Steve Jobs
“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.” — Malcolm Gladwell
“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan
“Nothing is impossible. The word itself says, ‘I’m possible!’” — Audrey Hepburn
“You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” — A.A. Milne
“Experience is not what happens to you; it’s what you do with what happens to you.” — Aldous Huxley
“True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

10 Inspirational quotes for kids in school

“ The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” — Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” — Nelson Mandela
“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” — Frederick Douglass
“Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.” — Albert Einstein
“The expert at anything was once a beginner.” — Helen Hayes
“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.” — Walt Disney
“Educating yourself does not mean that you were stupid in the first place; it means that you are intelligent enough to know that there is plenty left to learn.” — Melanie Joy
“If my mind can conceive it, if my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it.” — Muhammad Ali
“Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child and one teacher can change the world.” — Malala Yousafzai
“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” — Malcolm X

10 Encouraging quotes for kids who are having trouble with other kids

“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.” — Booker T. Washington
“A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself.” — Jim Morrison
“Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.” — Lucille Ball
“Remember no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” — Judy Garland
“What if the kid you bullied at school, grew up, and turned out to be the only surgeon who could save your life?” ― Lynette Mather
“Right is Right even if nobody does it. Wrong is wrong even if everybody is wrong about it.” ― G K Chesterton
“If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours.” — Dolly Parton
“Be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud.” — Maya Angelou
“You’re imperfect, and you’re wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.” — Brene Brown

10 Motivational quotes for kids about diversity and inclusion

“We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race. We all share the same basic values.” — Kofi Annan
“Change the world by being yourself.” — Amy Poehler
“We all can dance when we find music we love.” — Giles Andreae
“Be a little kinder than you have to.” — E. Lockhart
“Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. For, indeed, that’s all who ever have.” — Margaret Mead
“There’s no person in the whole world like you, and I like you just the way you are.” — Mr. Rogers
“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” — Desmond Tutu
“Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind.” — Henry James
“You can always, always give something, even if it is only kindness!” — Anne Frank
“Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair, but manifestations of strength and resolution.” ― Kahlil Gibran