Quotes About Fatherhood

A Father’s Day celebration

Fatherhood is one of the most important jobs a man can have. He doesn’t apply for it, he doesn’t need a license or degree to get it, and yet he has more influence in this position than he will ever have when he’s wearing a suit and sitting in a boardroom. These quotes are about the importance of fatherhood — and how difficult that job can be.

1. “Victory has a hundred fathers but defeat is an orphan.” -Galeazzo Ciano

2. “He didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.” -Clarence Budington Kelland

3. “In peace, sons bury their fathers; in war, fathers bury their sons.” -Herodotus

4. “It is a wise father that knows his own child.” -William Shakespeare

5. “It is funny the two things most men are proudest of is the thing that any man can do and doing does in the same way, that is being drunk and being the father of their son.” -Gertrude Stein

6. “Father of fathers, make me one, A fit example for a son.” -Douglas Malloch

7. “The fundamental defect of fathers is that they want their children to be a credit to them.” -Bertrand Russell

8. “A father is always making his baby into a little woman. And when she is a woman he turns her back again.” -Enid Bagnold

9. “If men started taking care of children, the job will become more valuable.” -Gloria Steinem

10. “This fathering is a man’s second chance at living.” -Angelo Patri

11. “You don’t raise heroes, you raise sons. And if you treat them like sons, they’ll turn out to be heroes, even if it’s just in your own eyes.” -Walter M. Schirra, Sr.

12. “Every dad, if he takes time out of his busy life to reflect upon his fatherhood, can learn ways to become an even better dad.” -Jack Baker

13. “Before I got married, I had six theories about raising children; now, I have six children and no theories.” -John Wilmot

14. “Anyone who tells you fatherhood is the greatest thing that can happen to you, they are understating it.” -Mike Myers

15. “To be the father of a nation is a great honor, but to be the father of a family is a greater joy.” -Nelson Mandela

16. “The best way of training the young is to train yourself at the same time; not to admonish them, but to be seen never doing that of which you would admonish them.” -Plato

17. “Every father should remember one day his son will follow his example, not his advice.” -Charles Kettering

18. “Son, there are times a man has to do things he doesn’t like to, in order to protect his family.” -Ralph Moody

19. “Real fatherhood means love and commitment and sacrifice and a willingness to share responsibility and not walking away from one’s children.” -William Bennett

20. “It is not flesh and blood, but the heart which makes us fathers and sons.” -Johann Friedrich von Schiller

21. “The nature of impending fatherhood is that you are doing something that you’re unqualified to do, and then you become qualified while doing it.” -John Green

22. “We all grow up. Hopefully, we get wiser. Age brings wisdom, and fatherhood changes one’s life completely.” -Frank Abagnale

23. “One of the greatest things a father can do for his children is to love their mother.” -Howard W. Hunter

24. “Fatherhood is great because you can ruin someone from scratch.” -Jon Stewart

25. “A father is neither an anchor to hold us back nor a sail to take us there, but a guiding light whose love shows us the way.” -Unknown

26. “Fatherhood is an honor, and men should be strong enough to step up to the plate.” -Karamo Brown

27. “It’s the courage to raise a child that makes you a father.” -Barack Obama

28. “When my son looks up at me and breaks into his wonderful toothless smile, my eyes fill up and I know that having him is the best thing I will ever do.” -Dan Greenberg

29. “An honourable father is the beacon and strength to his family.” -Wayne Chirisa

30. “Saturday mornings, I’ve learned, are a great opportunity for kids to sneak into your bed, fall back asleep, and kick you in the face.” -Dan Pearce

More from Kiki Wellington:

Sources:

13 Loving Quotes About Fatherhood. SUCCESS. https://www.success.com/13-loving-quotes-about-fatherhood/

Bernstein Partnow, E. (2008). The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Great Quotes for All Occasions*. Alpha Books.

Fatherhood Quotes. BrainyQuote. https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/fatherhood-quotes

Fatherhood Quotes. Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/fatherhood

Frank, C. (2000). Quotations for All Occasions. Columbia University Press.

McKay, B. and McKay, K. (2021, May 29). The Best Quotes on Fatherhood. The Art of Manliness. https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/the-ultimate-collection-of-quotes-about-fatherhood/

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Robertson, C. (1998). The Wordsworth Dictionary of Quotations. Wordsworth Editions Ltd.

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