Fatherhood is a journey filled with surprises—moments that are equal parts heartwarming and chaotic.
It’s a beautiful experience, one of the most rewarding things a man can go through.
Here are 40 quotes to celebrate the rollercoaster ride of being a dad—some wholesome, some funny—but all a reminder of why this wild, messy, amazing journey is worth every second.
1. “Love the child you have, not the one you want.”
— Unknown
2. “A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society.”
— Billy Graham
3. “Any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad.”
— Anne Geddes
4. “Fatherhood isn’t a chore; it’s a privilege.”
— Unknown
5. “My father didn’t tell me how to live; he lived and let me watch him do it.”
— Clarence Budington Kelland
6. “A father’s smile has been known to light up a child’s entire day.”
— Susan Gale
7. “Dads are most ordinary men turned by love into heroes, adventurers, storytellers, and singers of songs.”
— Pam Brown
8. “It is a wise father that knows his own child.”
— William Shakespeare
9. “A father doesn’t tell you that he loves you. He shows you.”
— Dimitri the Stoneheart
10. ”Being a father is a second chance. It’s a fresh start. It’s an obligation to work on yourself so your kids pick up where you’ve left off, benefiting from the struggle and progress you have made.
You can’t pass them the baton of your weaknesses and flaws.
You cannot let them be worse than you.”
— Ryan Holiday
- “I wasn’t anything special as a father. But I loved them and they knew it.”
— Sammy Davis, Jr.
- “My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.”
— Jim Valvano
- “One of the greatest things a father can do for his children is to love their mother.”
–Howard W. Hunter
- “I decided in my life that I would do nothing that did not reflect positively on my father’s life.”
— Sidney Poitier
- “Every father should remember one day his son will follow his example, not his advice.”
— Charles Kettering
- “A father is someone you look up to no matter how tall you grow.”
— Unknown
- “A son’s first hero is his dad.”
— Unknown
- “The greatest gift I ever had came from God; I call him Dad.”
— Unknown
- “It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us fathers and sons.”
— Johann Friedrich von Schiller
- “When a father gives to his son, both laugh; when a son gives to his father, both cry.”
— Yiddish Proverb
- “A father is the one friend upon whom we can always rely.”
— Émile Gaboriau
- “The quality of a father can be seen in the goals, dreams, and aspirations he sets not only for himself but for his family.”
— Reed Markham
- “Fathering is not something perfect men do, but something that perfects the man.”
— Frank Pittman
- “A dad is someone who wants to catch you before you fall but instead picks you up, brushes you off, and lets you try again.”
— Unknown
- “What you teach your children, you also teach their children.”
— The Talmud
- “Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance.”
— Ruth E. Renkel
- “When you need real understanding, when you need someone to care, when you need someone to guide you… a father’s always there.”
— Thomas J. Langley
- “Being a father means you have to think fast on your feet. You must be judicious, wise, brave, tender—and willing to put on a frilly hat and sit down to a pretend tea party.”
— Matthew Buckley
- “The power of a dad in a child’s life is unmatched.”
— Justin Ricklefs
- “The greatest mark of a father is how he treats his children when no one is looking.”
― Dan Pearce
- “A father carries pictures where his money used to be.”
— Steve Martin
- “Having children is like living in a frat house—nobody sleeps, everything’s broken, and there’s a lot of throwing up.”
— Ray Romano
- “My daughter got me a ‘World’s Best Dad’ mug. So we know she’s sarcastic.”
— Bob Odenkirk
- “When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.”
— Mark Twain
- “I have a friend who has no kids but he has tattoos, and he talks about them like they are his kids. He says things like, ‘This is my oldest—it’s my favorite. This one was a result of a long night of drinking. This one came out darker than I expected.’ And so on.”
— Keith Alberstadt
- “You know what it’s like having a fourth kid? Imagine you’re drowning, then someone hands you a baby.”
— Jim Gaffigan
- “By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he’s wrong.”
— Charles Wadsworth
- “A good father is one whose only reason for putting down a laughing baby is to pick up a crying one.”
— Linda Poindexter
- “I’ve been to war. I’ve raised twins. If I had a choice, I’d rather go to war.”
– George W. Bush
- “Being a great father is like shaving. No matter how good you shaved today, you have to do it again tomorrow.”
—Reed Markham