54 Growing Up Quotes For Every Age

Seeing kids play makes us feel nostalgic for our childhood days. But it's a different ball game when one becomes a parent. Children growing up in a wink of an eye stirs various emotions in every mother and father. And on the other hand, the sense of responsibility and love each parent shows to their growing child should also be how we should treat ourselves as we grow and mature.

Our collection of growing up quotes encapsulates the sentiments and reminders every person, whether a parent or not, may experience growing up and navigating life.

Quick links to our selection of growing up quotes:

Sentimental Growing Up Quotes About Childhood Memories

The vividness of childhood memories often leaves a lasting impression on our minds, as these moments make up the foundation of who we become later in life. 

Reminiscing these memories full of innocence and wonder rekindles the joy it brings. Interestingly, our brain's ability to recall positive childhood memories can profoundly impact our overall well-being. Studies show how nostalgia, even when it's a response to a negative mood, can strengthen relationships, improve self-respect, and increase positive emotions.

Personally, my fond childhood memories consist of playing with my cousins in our backyard. How about you? Feel the nostalgia as you ponder over the growing up quotes below.

"Growing up happens in a heartbeat. One day you're in diapers; the next day you're gone. But the memories of childhood stay with you for the long haul."
- The Wonder Years

"When we are children, we seldom think of the future. This innocence leaves us free to enjoy ourselves as few adults can. The day we fret about the future is the day we leave our childhood behind."
- Patrick Rothfuss

"For me, growing up felt like a roller coaster ride at times, but looking back, I don’t think that it was such a bad thing. It was all part of the excitement of being young."
- Jameela Jamil

Relatable Growing Up Quotes For Parents And Guardians

If you're a parent, you often feel a bittersweet mix of emotions watching your children grow up. The excitement of seeing them learn and blossom into unique individuals is accompanied by a sense of nostalgia for the times when they were just little. 

I am not a parent yet, but I can imagine the chaotic, busy, yet fulfilling life of being one based on the different stories I have heard from my parents and others online. 

That's why parents can benefit from practicing mindfulness. From their first wobbly steps to the nervous excitement of the first day of school, the little ones are growing up too fast. As parents, it's crucial to savor these moments and be present, creating precious memories that last a lifetime.

As you read the growing up quotes below, remember to cherish every moment with your kids.

"To be able to watch your children's children grow up is truly a blessing from above."
- Byron Pulsifer

"There are no perfect parents, and there are no perfect children, but there are plenty of perfect moments along the way."
- Dave Willis

"The great paradox of parenting is that it moves in both slow motion and fast speed."
- Unknown

"Hold on to the tiny moments and cherish the little snuggles. They grow up so fast!"
- Unknown

"I wish I could go back in time and watch my kids grow up all over again because it is just going by too fast."
- Robert Rodriguez

"I think she is growing up, and so begins to dream dreams, and have hopes and fears and fidgets, without knowing why or being able to explain them."
- Louisa May Alcott

"Motherhood is an early retirement position. Your children do grow up."
- Colleen Parro

"Your son will always be your little boy and your daughters will always be your little girls!"
- Felicisima Nietes De Jesus

"There are only 940 Saturdays between a child's birth and her leaving for college."
- Harley Rotbart

The years will rush by, and one day you will be watching your son as a man and feeling incredibly proud that he is caring, safe, making a contribution, and hopefully going far beyond you in the scope of his life.

~ Steve Biddulph

I hope that my daughter grows up empowered and doesn't define herself by the way she looks but by qualities that make her an intelligent, strong, and responsible woman.

~ Isaiah Mustafa

Inspirational Growing Up Quotes About Parenthood

Parenthood is a rollercoaster ride packed with moments of laughter, tears, and countless learning experiences for parents and children. It can also be frustrating and scary at times since, as a parent, you are molding the future of a tiny human being. 

Parenting styles could be authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, or uninvolved. The degree of freedom the children have and the disciplinary actions the parents impose vary for each type.

Research shows authoritative parenting is the most effective in raising self-regulating, independent children with high self-esteem and academic performance¹.

Raise the future generation with love and care as the following growing-up quotes remind you of the responsibility and joy of parenthood.

Related: To explore ways to celebrate family members any day of the year as well as recognize the special day dedicated to them, click on to our articles on Mother's Day, National Sons Day, and National Daughters Day.

"Remember, the goal is not to raise great kids; it's to raise kids who become great adults."
- Andy Andrews

"Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands."
- Anne Frank

"A child's life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a mark."
- Chinese Proverb

"The empty nest comes quickly. Do not squander your most precious privilege of participating in the lives of your children."
- Alan Hedquist

"While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about."
- Angela Schwindt

"When kids grow up wanting to be you, you matter."
- Seth Godin

"Someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again."
- C.S. Lewis

Yet, now in my arms, I was holding a helpless baby boy who would grow into a man. I cannot imagine that soft little face one day having whiskers.

~ Rhonda Stoppe

Yes, Christmas is for children except that children grow up to be adults who just might love Christmas as much as they did in their younger years.

~ Cherie Lowe

Motivational Growing Up Quotes About Continuous Improvement

In life, we should continuously strive to reach our full potential. The Japanese philosophy of kaizen believes in taking small, incremental steps toward progress, ultimately leading to self-improvement. 

In the West, Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck also hit the nail when she introduced the concept of a growth mindset in her book Mindset. The beauty of a growth mindset lies in the belief that we can hone our abilities over time with hard work, dedication, and good old-fashioned grit. 

After reading the growing-up quotes below, embrace these empowering mentalities to unlock success in various aspects of life, from childhood to adulthood and beyond.

"Growing old is unavoidable, but never growing up is possible. I believe you can retain certain things from your childhood if you protect them — certain traits, certain places where you don't let the world go."
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

"The trick is growing up without growing old."
- Casey Stengel

"When they tell you to grow up, they mean stop growing."
- Tom Robbins

"Don't grow old to give up and don't give up growing up."
- Bernard Kelvin Clive

"Growing up is losing some illusions in order to acquire others."
- Virginia Woolf

"It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are."
- E.E. Cummings

"Growth is the only evidence of life."
- John Henry Newman

Encouraging Growing Up Quotes For All Adults

Life is a roller coaster of twists and turns, and change is the one constant we can rely on. As we grow older, embracing change with open arms is vital, ensuring we adapt and thrive in an ever-evolving world. 

With the looming new technologies and industries, we should continue to pursue education beyond the requirements of schools and workplaces. Besides lifelong learning, we should also constantly introspect and evolve as a person. Whether it's compassion, discipline, or patience, working on these various aspects of life is part of our daily journey.

May the following growing up quotes encourage you to evolve every day.

"Relax. You will become an adult. You will figure out your career. You will find someone who loves you. You have a whole lifetime; time takes time. The only way to fail at life is to abstain."
- Johanna de Silentio

"Everyone thinks you make mistakes when you’re young. But I don’t think we make any fewer when we’re grown up."
- Jodi Picoult

"Let's learn to grow up, before we grow old."
- Martin H. Manser

"One of the strange things about adulthood is that you are your current self, but you are also all the selves you used to be, the ones you grew out of but can’t ever quite get rid of."
- John Green

"That’s one of the things we learn as we grow older — how to forgive. It comes easier at forty than it did at twenty."
- L.M. Montgomery

"When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves."
- Viktor Frankl

"What you have become is the price you paid to get what you used to want."
- Mignon McLaughlin

"Growing up, I have discovered over time, is rather like housework: never finished."
- Lois McMaster Bujold

Quotes About Growing Up And Enjoying The Journey

Navigating adulthood is like a rollercoaster full of ups and downs of emotions and circumstances. As we traverse life, getting caught up in the whirlwind of achievements and failures is easy. Unfortunately, we also often compare our lives with others and put unnecessary pressure on ourselves. 

By practicing mindfulness, we can fully immerse ourselves in the present moment. Thus, we can better appreciate the significance and beauty of each stage in life. It urges us to hit the pause button, take a step back, and observe our thoughts and feelings without judgment. 

Let's focus on our timeline and cherish every moment while checking the growing up quotes below.

"Even though you’re growing up, you should never stop having fun."
- Nina Dobrev

"Too many people grow up. That's the real trouble with the world, too many people grow up. They forget. They don't remember what it's like to be 12 years old. They patronize, they treat children as inferiors."
- Walt Disney

"You learn over time that the world isn’t broken. It’s just… got more pieces to it than you thought. They all fit together, just maybe not the way you pictured when you were young."
- M.L. Wang

"The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one."
- J.D. Salinger

"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another."
- Anatole France

"If growing up is the process of creating ideas and dreams about what life should be, then maturity is letting go again."
- Mary Beth Danielson

When we were kids growing up in Liverpool, all we ever wanted to be was Elvis Presley.

~ Paul McCartney

Quotes About Growing Up And Aging

"Most people don't grow up. Most people age. They find parking spaces, honor their credit cards, get married, have children, and call that maturity. What that is, is aging."
- Maya Angelou

"Age is a necessary but insufficient requirement for growing up. There are immature old people, and there are appropriately mature young people."
- Henry Cloud

"Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional."
- Chili Davis

"Growing up is such a barbarous business, full of inconvenience and pimples."
- J.M. Barrie

"I don't want to be a man,' said Jace. 'I want to be an angst-ridden teenager who can't confront his own inner demons and takes it out verbally on other people instead.' 'Well,' said Luke, 'you're doing a fantastic job.'"
- Cassandra Clare

Parents rarely let go of their children, so children let go of them. They move on. They move away. The moments that used to define them - a mother's approval, a father's nod - are covered by moments of their own accomplishments.

~ Mitch Albom

What can we take on trust in this uncertain life? Happiness, greatness, pride — nothing is secure, nothing keeps.

~ Euripides

The older I get, the more I see the power of that young woman, my mother.

~ Sharon Olds

To a father growing old, nothing is dearer than a daughter.

~ Euripides