17 Poems About Your Child Growing Up

Inside : 17 poems about child growing up, including poems about daughters growing up and poems for sons growing up. 

Watching your children grow up is an experience like no other. There are many emotions associated with seeing a child mature, including excitement, pride, fear, sadness, humility, and, most of all, love. Each and every stage of your little one’s life is incredibly unique with its own set of challenges and miracles. Although you were once a child yourself, seeing your own offspring go through the stages of life that you did is something that no one is ever fully prepared for.

The following list of poems about children growing up explores these complex experiences that define our lives forever. Whether you want to express to your child what it means to you to watch them grow, or you simply just want to relate to other parents who have experienced the same feelings, these poems about a child growing up will touch your heart in a way that no other topic can.

 Poems About Child Growing Up

“Growing up” is a phrase that encapsulates an entire life. Your child will turn three, and then ten, and then fifteen, and so on, and all the while you’ll be in awe that they are maturing and changing without a pause. While this can be hard to accept at times, it can also be quite powerful and profound. To watch someone who was once so small become their own individual person in front of your eyes is nothing short of a miracle. These poems about children growing up portray this idea at all stages of your kids’ lives.

1. Home Again, Home Again by Marilyn L. Taylor. These heart touching rhymes are written from the perspective of a parent whose children are adult-aged. The rare instances wherein adult-aged children come back to stay in their parents’ home is tenderly portrayed here, and it expresses the excitement that parents get from being able to return to this special feeling of having their kids at home again.
2. Hold My Hand by Ms. Moem. Parents have to take care of babies because they cannot care for themselves. However, even when those babies get older, moms and dads will always be by their side to help them navigate their lives.
3. How You Know by Joe Mills. As mothers and fathers, you are responsible for teaching your young all that you can. In this poem about children growing up, a father recognizes the pain of being unable to accurately teach his daughter something that she wants to know. Some lessons have to be learned the hard way, which is a notion that most mothers and fathers regret for their sons and daughters.
4. A Poet to His Baby Son by James Weldon Johnson. Knowing that a baby will eventually get older and become its own person is something that fills all adults with complete wonder. For the father in this poem, it is a knowledge that evokes apprehension. All mothers and fathers feel a complex mix of both fear and excitement when they wonder just who their baby will become.
5. The Last Time by an unknown author. This widely circulated poem reminds us of the melancholy reality that once time has passed with our children, we can never get it back, and so we should cherish every single moment that we get with them.
6. When You Are Ready  —Sophia Beth-Ann

7. “My sweet child,

Today is your day,

The first of many steps

As you journey on your way.

Your future is filled

With amazing possibilities.

So chase your dreams,

Embrace the opportunities.

And those times when life

Throws you curve balls,

Always remember

I’ll be there when you call.”—S. Marie

8. “Your baby grows a tooth, then two,

and four, and five, then she wants some meat

directly from the bone.  It’s all

over: she’ll learn some words, she’ll fall

in love with cretins, dolts, a sweet

talker on his way to jail.  And you,

 

your wife, get old, flyblown, and rue

nothing.  You did, you loved, your feet

are sore.  It’s dusk.  Your daughter’s tall.”—Thomas Lux

Poems About Daughters Growing Up

Many parents who are blessed with both daughters and sons find that witnessing their daughters mature and their sons mature are two completely unique experiences. Whether you are a mother or a father, these poems about daughters growing up poignantly portray the intricate relationship between daughters and parents as they both age.

9. The Writer by Richard Wilbur. Adults hate to see their young ones go through the pains of life that they did. This author expresses a desperate wish in this poem that his daughter  will never feel trapped or afraid.
10. Her Name Will Be Fearless  —Nikita Gill
11. Mother to Daughter —Christy Ann Martine
12. For a Daughter Who Leaves —Janice Mirikitani

13. “I see her in me

In her soft stares

And polite smiles

In her hidden tears

And worn out face

I see her in me

That hurting pain

That hides within

That sucking feeling

Of burying it in.”—Ivory Jay

Poems About Sons Growing Up

The bond between a father and son is said to be one of the strongest, most intimate relationships to exist. Of course, the same can be said for the bond between a mother and a son. The most perplexing issue that parents face is that their young children can’t truly understand what it feels like to love one’s own child. Poetry can be used as a medium for expressing these complicated emotions, and gifting a poem for a son growing up can be a great way to show him just how much he means to you.

14. To My Grown Up Son by Alice E. Chase. This writer understands that many mothers regret not having done enough for their sons or daughters, but reminds readers to remember all of the wonderful things that they did do for their kids.
15. I Sometimes Wish  —Larry Howland
16. My Love for You  —Sarah F. DuBois
17. Mother to Son  —Langston Hughes

More Poetry You’ll Love

Both parenting and maturing to adulthood are experiences that are universal yet completely individualized. That is, everyone grows up, but everyone’s life has its own nuances and perspectives.  Many aspects of life are like this, and it is through art and poetry that we are able to relate to one another and learn about each other.

• 27 Impactful Wolf Poems. Having offspring and raising them to adulthood is certainly not a phenomenon that is unique to humans. Wolves are known for being of the select group of animals that raises their offspring and does not abandon them. These impactful pieces about wolves will reiterate that parenting is a profound experience for everyone who does it.
• 30 Passionate Poems About Love. Love is at the core of each and every parent-child relationship, from the very start to the very end. These touching words about love will fill your heart with tenderness for your child.
• 30 Warming Winter Poems. Many mothers and fathers can agree that some of the best memories made with their kids are made during the winter. Whether it’s watching kids play in the snow for the first time, cozying up together to stay warm, or enjoying the holidays together, this poetry about winter will remind you of all of these precious memories.