February is a time to celebrate our loved ones, but it is also a time to celebrate our country's presidents. There have been forty-six United States presidents (including the current one, Joe Biden, whose term began in 2021). Here are some timeless words of wisdom to share with your children for inspiration during challenging times!
1. “Try and fail, but don’t fail to try.”
― John Quincy Adams
Son of the 2nd president of the United States, John Quincy Adams served our country from 1825-1829. In this quote, he encourages the nation to not fear failure and instead, be courageous enough to make an attempt at success.
As our children continue to navigate the world, setbacks or challenges can be highly discouraging. Sharing this quote with them will not only inspire them to try new things, but also let them know that it is ok to fail.
2. "Leave nothing for tomorrow which can be done today.”
― Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. He is most remembered for issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared the slaves under the Confederacy free in 1863. In this quote, he highly discourages procrastination.
How many times have our children responded with “I’ll do it in five minutes!” or “I can do it tomorrow!” when asked to do a chore or complete an assignment?
A quote from one of the most popular presidents in history could help them understand that work done immediately could save time the next day in order to accomplish greater things.
3. “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt was the 26th and youngest president in the history of the United States. He took the position after the assasination of President Mckinley and led the nation to progressive reforms and strong foreign policies.
Teaching our children resourcefulness, especially in times of challenges, will go a long way. Sometimes when we find ourselves unequipped with certain tools to achieve our goals, it’s easy to sit and wait until everything is perfectly in order before we start the work. But why waste something so valuable such as time? If we start with the tools that we have now, we will have a better starting point than if we had waited for the situation to become ideal before getting started.
4. "Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction."
― John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy was the 35th and youngest elected president of the United States. Before his term tragically ended, he took vigorous action in the course of equal rights and advocated for new civil rights legislation.
It is important to teach our children to keep their focus on their long and short term goals, so that the energy they expend would productively lead them towards the end goal, instead of fruitless ventures. Successful people know what their goals are and perform the daily actions necessary to achieve those purposes.
5. “There are no great limits to growth because there are no limits of human intelligence, imagination, and wonder.” ―Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan, originally an American actor and politician, became the 40th President of the United States serving from 1981 to 1989. His term saw a restoration of prosperity at home, with the goal of achieving “peace through strength” abroad.
The sky is the limit--or, the world is your oyster. It is important to teach our children that the world will always keep growing--as long as imagination is still in play. In sharing this quote, we encourage our children to use their imagination, to stay curious and to keep expanding their knowledge in order to keep growing as a person.