As a parent, there is nothing more heart-wrenching than the feeling of missing out on your child’s life. Whether it be due to a demanding career, shared custody, or other circumstances, the thought of not being there for every milestone and moment can bring so much guilt, regret, and sadness. This is why I have gathered 100 powerful missing out on your child’s life quotes.
You are not alone. Many parents struggle with finding enough time to spend with their children. Here you’ll find quotes that range from uplifting to heart-wrenching, but each one carries a message of hope, love, and the importance of cherishing every moment with our children.
So, whether you’re a working parent trying to make ends meet, a parent whose child is moving out, a long-distance parent, a parent dealing with the aftermath of a separation, or more, these quotes serve as a reminder that you are a loving and devoted parent, and your children will always hold a special place in your heart just as you do theirs. What matters most is that you are always there to support, nurture, and show effort.
Hopefully, these words will bring comfort and understanding to the tough emotions you may be experiencing, and serve as a reminder to make the most of every moment with your children.
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Best picks: My favorite picks from all of the categories below
Emotional: Quotes that express the emotional pain of missing out on a child’s life and missing them, such as feelings of sadness, regret, and longing.
Cherishing moments & gratitude: Quotes that express the importance of cherishing the moments spent with a child, even if they are few and far between.
Encouragement: Quotes that offer encouragement and comfort to parents who are missing out on their child’s life, reminding them that their love and connection are eternal.
Letting go: Quotes about letting go as a child becomes more independent and begins to make their own way in the world.
Absent or distant family: Quotes about family missing out on a child’s life and the power of long-distance family.
Best missing out on your child’s life quotes
Sometimes you have to be apart from the people you love but that doesn’t make you love them any less. Sometimes you love them more. – Nicholas Sparks
No one else will ever know the strength of my love for you. After all, you’re the only one who knows what my heart sounds like from the inside. -Kristen Proby
How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard. – A.A. Milne (Winnie-the-Pooh)
Your family love must be cultivated. Time, effort, and imagination must be summoned to keep any relationship flourishing and growing. – Jim Rohn
I exist in two places, here and where you are. – Unknown
Let today be the day you give up who you’ve been for who you can become. – Hal Elrod
The few hours I spend with you are worth the thousand hours I spend without you. – Unknown
Missing someone isn’t about how long it has been since you’ve seen them or the amount of time since you’ve talked. It’s about that very moment when you’re doing something and wishing they were right there with you. – Dru Edmund Kucherera
A child may outgrow your lap, but they will never outgrow your heart. – Unknown
The most precious jewels you’ll ever have around your neck are the arms of your children. – Unknown
Someday they will grow up to appreciate all of your hard work and sacrifices. – Unknown
Emotional quotes about missing out on your child’s life
I’ll hold you in my heart, till I can hold you in my arms again. – Unknown
The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family. – Thomas Jefferson
My father didn’t tell me how to live. He lived and let me watch him do it. – Clarence B. Kelland
The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone. – Harriet Beecher Stowe
You don’t know what unconditional love is. You may say you do, but if you don’t have a child, you don’t know what that is. But when you experience it, it is the most fulfilling ever. – Regina King
You deserve the best I have to give, and that’s my undying love as long as you shall live. – Unknown
Just remember when you are ignoring her, you are teaching her to live without you. – Unknown
Being a parent is about love, sacrifice, and hard work. But most of all, it’s about creating a better future for your children. – Unknown
Deciding to have a child –is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. – Elizabeth Stone
As a child, I was very careful not to erase my mother’s writing on the chalkboard because I would miss her. – Joyce Rachelle
Being a parent means loving your children more than you’ve ever loved yourself. – Unknown
A baby is something that you carry inside you for 9 months, in your arms for 3 years, and in your heart until the day you die. – Mary Mason
Missing someone is part of loving them. Not until you are apart do you realize how much they mean to you. – Nikhil Saluja
I said to myself, I’ve waited a long time in my life to have a child, and I’m missing it, I want to continue to have a career, but not this way. – Karen Allen
Missing you comes in waves, tonight I’m drowning. – Unknown
Our most basic instinct is not for survival but for family. – Paul Pearsall
I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection. – Sigmund Freud
To be in your children’s memory tomorrow, you have to be in their lives today. – Unknown
One of the saddest things in this world is to see a child grow up hating one of their parents because they only got one side of the story. – Unknown
Cherishing moments & gratitude
Treasure the moments, for they will be memories tomorrow. – Unknown
The changes in your body will last for just nine months, but the beauty of motherhood will embrace you for the rest of your life. – Unknown
Let me love you a little more before you’re not little anymore. – Unknown
The greatest gift I can give to my children is my time, my love, and my attention. – Unknown
Telling my babies how much I love them is not simply a habit. It is a constant reminder to let them know that they are the best thing to have ever happened to me. – Unknown
A baby will make your days shorter, love stronger, bank account smaller, clothes shabbier, home happier. The past is forgotten, and the future is worth living for. – Unknown
Playing with you is the happiest moment of my day. – Unknown
Family traditions counter alienation and confusion. They help us define who we are; they provide something steady, reliable, and safe in a confusing world. - Susan Lieberman
Every day of a child’s life is like a piece of string in a pile, impossible to find once it’s lost. – Robert Brault
Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see. – John F. Kennedy
The days are long, but the years are short. – Gretchen Rubin
Having children just puts the whole world into perspective. Everything else just disappears. – Kate Winslet
A mother discovers that one does not love one’s children just because they are one’s children but of the friendship formed while raising them. – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
People come and go in our lives, but the beauty of life is that our family is always there. – Catherine Pulsifer
Encouragement
Spending time being down is less time out there achieving and enjoying. – Sean Combs
Other things may change us, but we start and end with family. – Anthony Brandt
There’s no way to be a perfect parent and a million ways to be a good one. – Jill Churchill
I’m not telling you it is going to be easy- I am telling you it is going to be worth it. – Art Williams
A mother’s love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path. – Agatha Christie
A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society. – Billy Graham
A mother’s love for her child is like nothing else in the world. – Agatha Christie
One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters. – George Herbert
And she loved a little boy very much, even more, than she loved herself – Shel Silverstein
My child may not have everything they want in this world, but they have a mama that loves them more than anything in the world. – Unknown
You may wonder sometimes why I do what I do. Just remember, my child, my every thought is for you. – Unknown
Being a working mom is not about having it all. It’s about making the most of every moment. – Unknown
Work gives you purpose, but motherhood gives you meaning. – Unknown
I hug you and kiss you and tell you I love you because it fills me with joy. I’ll hug you and kiss you and tell you I love you some more so you’ll be full too. – Unknown
Close together or far apart, you’re forever in my heart. – Unknown
It’s always nice to have someone in your life who can make you smile even when they’re not around. – Unknown
Distance gives us a reason to love harder. – Unknown
Don’t worry about being a perfect mother. Just be a real one. – Unknown
I miss my kids sometimes and that can get me down when I’ve been away working, but then I wake up and recognize how incredibly lucky I am. Spending time being down is less time out there achieving and enjoying. – Sean Combs
I miss my kids sometimes and that can get me down when I’ve been away working, but then I wake up and recognize how incredibly lucky I am. – Unknown
No work is more important than my love for you. – Unknown
I recognize the amount of time that it takes as a director. I made the choice to stop taking roles outside of L.A. because I didn’t want to miss any of my child’s life. – Regina King
Quotes about letting go
The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again. – Charles Dickens
It can feel somewhat scary at times, even harrowing, but at the end of the day you learn to accept your child isn’t a child anymore. – Unknown
Some people can be so close to you even if physically far, they walk with you and stay near in every moment of your life. – Senora Roy
Where we love is home, the home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts. – Oliver Wendell Holmes
As old as she was. She still missed her daddy sometimes. – Unknown
A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it. – George Moore
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you. – Kahlil Gibran
The magic thing about home is that it feels good to leave, and it feels even better to come back. – Wendy Wunder
Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. – Terry Pratchett
Home is wherever you leave everything you love and never question that it will be there when you return. – Leo Christopher
Maybe you had to leave to really miss a place; maybe you had to travel to figure out how beloved your starting point was. – Jodi Picoult
The ache for home lives in all of us. The place where we can go as we are and not be questioned. – Maya Angelou
You may no longer be small, or need my help for all, but you’ll always need love from my heart, especially when we are apart. – Unknown
Home is wherever you leave everything you love and never question that it will be there when you return. – Leo Christopher
Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to. – John Ed Pearce
If distance were measured in terms of the heart we’d never be more than a minute apart. – Unknown
Family missing out on your child’s life quotes
As a family, we make – not take – time for each other. That is the key to a strong chain even though some links don’t touch. – Unknown
Just because I’m not forever by your side doesn’t mean that’s not precisely where I want to be. – Stephanie Laurens
The loss of a parent is like a missing piece in a jigsaw puzzle, forever leaving a gap that can never be filled. – Unknown
In every conceivable manner, the family is a link to our past, the bridge to our future. – Alex Haley
Nothing hurts more than family that ignores you. Do it to me, but not to my child. – Unknown
Getting together as a family is like putting all the chapters in a book, you need each member for the family to make sense. – Anonymous
The distance between my family and my child may be great, but the love we share will always bring us together. – Unknown
Sticking with your family is what makes it a family. – Mitch Albom
The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life. – Richard Bach
The absent are never without fault, nor the present without excuse. – Benjamin Franklin
Home is people. Not a place. If you go back there after the people are gone, then all you can see is what is not there anymore. – Robin Hobb
Be a part of my kid’s life or not. I won’t beg you. You’re missing out, not them. Just don’t get mad when they don’t know who you are. – Unknown
You can’t see air, but you need it to breathe and it is always there. Likewise, your family may not be in sight, but we need each other and will always be there. – Unknown
Near or far, we’re only separated by car. As long as we exist, there is no distance across which our family can’t persist. – Unknown
You can put miles between you and your family but you carry them with you; you live in a world and a world lives in you. – Frederick Buechner
Families are like branches on a tree. We grow in different directions yet our roots remain as one. – Unknown
Families are the compasses that guide us. They are the inspiration to reach great heights and our comfort when we occasionally falter. – Brad Henry
This is part of what a family is about; knowing that they will be there watching out for you. Nothing else will give you that. – Mitch Albom
Ways to show your love when you can’t always be there
Here’s how you can show your child love from a distance if you can’t be physically there:
- Communicate often: Regularly check in with your child through phone calls, video chats, emails, and/or text messages.
- Support their interests: Take an interest in your child’s hobbies, schoolwork, and achievements, and encourage them to pursue their passions. Show up or reach out to celebrate all of their accomplishments.
- Surprises and gifts: Send them little gifts, cards, and notes to show that you are thinking about them. It doesn’t have to be big.
- Quality time: Whenever you get the chance to spend time with your child, make the most of it. Focus on activities they enjoy, listen to their stories, get on their level and just be present in the moment.
- Get involved in their daily life: Ask about their day and show interest in the details of their life. Be involved when it’s possible.
- Share about yourself: Share your own passions and interests with your child and let them see the things you love.
- Get creative: There are so many creative and fun little things you can do! This article shares a really fun and intimate idea that involves journaling.
Remember, quality over quantity is most important when it comes to building a strong relationship with your child. With effort and dedication, you can build and keep a strong connection. Celebrate the small moments of connection and let them know they are loved, no matter what, and make sure your actions always show that.
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