We may not all be feeling 100 percent these days, and that’s OK, but what we say with our kids matters, and taking a moment to be positive can help everyone decompress for a second and gain some perspective. Plus, kids are copycats: They mimic the adults around them, parroting actions and repeating words — it’s how they learn how to be humans in this big, scary world. Sharing positive quotes from smart people helps to keep things on the up (and balances out all those curse words we keep accidentally letting slip in front of them). From the sayings of Michelle Obama to the wisdom of Mr. Rogers, here are some of the best positive quotes for kids to commit to memory for when your kid is having a bad day.

• “We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own ‘to do’ list.” —Michelle Obama
• “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent” —Eleanor Roosevelt
• “Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.” —Mark Twain
• “You can’t rely on how you look to sustain you…. What is fundamentally beautiful is compassion; for yourself and for those around you.” —Lupita Nyong’o
• “Limit your ‘always’ and your ‘nevers.’” —Amy Poehler
• “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment, until it becomes a memory.” —C.S. Lewis
• “It isn’t where you came from, it’s where you’re going that counts.” —Ella Fitzgerald
• “We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” —Joseph Campbell
• “The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” —Michael Altshuler
• “If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” —Roald Dahl
• “The only thing evil can’t stand is forgiveness.” —Fred Rogers
• “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” —Winston Churchill
• “Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.” —Will Rogers
• “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken. “ —Oscar Wilde
• “Turn your wounds into wisdom.” —Oprah Winfrey
• “None but ourselves can free our minds.” —Bob Marley
• “Take responsibility of your own happiness, never put it in other people’s hands.” —Roy T. Bennett
• “Nothing in the world is ever completely wrong. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.” —Paulo Coelho
• “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” — Christopher Robin, Winnie the Pooh
• “Don’t let what you can’t do stop you from doing what you can do.” — John Wooden
• “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandi
• “Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!”― Audrey Hepburn
• “It’s not about what it is, it’s about what it can become.” – Dr Suess
• “If you focus on what you left behind, you will never see what lies ahead.” – Gusteau, Ratatouille.
• “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” – Aesop
• “When it rains look for rainbows, when it’s dark look for stars.” – Oscar Wilde
• “Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.” – Minor Myers
• “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

– Thomas Edison

• “Don’t let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was.” – Richard L. Evans

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This article was originally published on Dec. 30, 2020

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