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12 Affirming and Encouraging Quotes for Kids

Children are born with an innate sense of wonder and infinite potential. Nurturing their curiosity and encouraging them as they grow tells them that they’re valued and loved for who they are — an essential part of helping kids grow into confident and capable adults.

When children feel safe and encouraged, they are more likely to take risks and try new things; when they receive positive reinforcement, it boosts their self-esteem and self-worth, and helps build a strong sense of identity. Throughout all of their inevitable growing pains, it’s important to remain a sturdy presence, and with the help of these wise words, affirm that they are safe, loved, and capable. Here are some encouraging and affirming quotes for all the young people who might need to hear them.

We all have different gifts, so we all have different ways of saying to the world who we are.
Fred Rogers

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Winning doesn't always mean being first. Winning means you're doing better than you've ever done before.
Bonnie Blair, Olympic speed skater

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You are enough just as you are.
Meghan Markle

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If you care about what you do and work hard at it, there isn’t anything you can’t do if you want to.
Jim Henson

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The time is always right to do what's right.
Martin Luther King Jr.

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Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.
Babe Ruth

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Try to be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud.
Maya Angelou

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Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you greater than any obstacle.
Christian D. Larson, teacher

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Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
Theodore Roosevelt

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Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.
George Washington Carver, scientist

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Dream big, and dare to fail.
Norman D. Vaughan, explorer

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I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be.
Robert Munsch, children’s author

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Photo credit: Kolpakova Daria/ Shutterstock

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About the Author
Nicole Villeneuve
Nicole is a writer, thrift store lover, and group-chat meme spammer based in Ontario, Canada.
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