For a universally understood amalgam of emotions, the complexity of fatherhood is incredibly hard to put into words. What we can say is it’s some combination of love, fear, hope, and just absolutely trying to do your best without having any idea if what you’re doing is right. Thankfully there are many others who have had beautiful things to say. We’ve compiled a list of 75 of these quotes that we think are both incredibly relatable, and a bit inspiring. It’s nice to be reminded that, for feelings so ineffable, all fathers know it, and we’re in it together.
1. “My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, ‘You’re tearing up the grass.’ ‘We’re not raising grass,’ Dad would reply. ‘We’re raising boys.’” -Harmon Killebrew
2. “My dad was here one minute and now he’s gone. You realize… that’s it. All of the things you work hard for and stress about, you don’t take them with you. Then, when you see your child for the first time, you’re like… ‘WOW,” and you realize that it’s a cycle.” -Idris Elba
3. “The attitude you have as a parent is what your kids will learn from more than what you tell them. They don’t remember what you try to teach them. They remember what you are.” -Jim Henson
4. “Anyone who does anything to help a child in his life is a hero.” -Fred Rogers
5. “Success, and even life itself, wouldn’t be worth anything if I didn’t have my children by my side. They mean everything to me.” -Jude Law
6. My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person: he believed in me.” -Jim Valvano
7. “Of all the titles I’ve been privileged to have, Dad has always been the best.” -Ken Norton
8. “It doesn’t matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was.” -Michael Ratnadeepak
9. “I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren’t trying to teach us. We are formed by little scraps of wisdom.” -Umberto Eco
10. “Throughout the years, throughout the ups and downs, I’ve realized that the most important thing that I could do with my daughter is lead a life with love. Not success, not fame, not anything else but ‘I’m always here for you. I love you.’” -Dwayne Johnson
11. “Having a kid is like falling in love for the first time when you’re 12, but every day.” -Mike Myers
12. “I thought I would be more inspired to have all these new feelings to talk about, but I really just want to hang out with my daughter.” -Jay-Z
13. “What I learned most from my father wasn’t anything he said; it was just the way he behaved.” -Jeff Bridges
14. “When one has not had a good father, one must create one.” -Friedrich Nietzsche
15. “I’ve done all kinds of cool things as an actor, but none of it means anything compared to being somebody’s daddy. I made promises in that moment about what kind of dad I wanted to be and I just prayed that he’d live long enough that I could keep that.” -Chris Pratt
16. “When I hear people talk about juggling, or the sacrifices they make for their children, I look at them like they’re crazy, because ‘sacrifice’ infers that there was something better to do than being with your children. Being with my kids is the best, most fun thing. It’s a privilege. It’s not something I call a sacrifice.” -Chris Rock
17. “My girls turned out great. And the way that my parents raised me and my brothers was different but it also worked. I think it’s like a relay race. You run and you hand over the baton and your kids pick it up. They take the stuff they want, throw the rest away and keep running. That’s what life is about.” -Billy Crystal
18. “I mean, I look at my dad. He was 20 when he started having a family, and he was always the coolest dad. He did everything for his kids, and he never made us feel like he was pressured. I know that it must be a great feeling to be a guy like that.” -Adam Sandler
19. “The idea really triggered something inside me about protection and parenting. And I just thought maybe I could make it a metaphor for parenthood: The fact that no matter what, there will come a time when you don’t have control over what your kids do, what they say, what they think. And you just hope that the preparation was enough to get them through and they survive.” -John Krasinski
20. “When my father passed, I was still an unsuccessful cook with a drug problem. I was in my mid-thirties, standing behind an oyster bar, cracking clams for a living when he died. So, he never saw me complete a book or achieve anything of note. I would have liked to have shared this with him.” -Anthony Bourdain
21. “I have a stepson, five biological children, grandchildren, and a couple of great-grandchildren. And the treasure of all this: I still get a little jump every time I hear ‘Dad.’” -Larry King
22. “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” -Frederick Douglass
23. “My father used to say that it’s never too late to do anything you wanted to do. And he said, ‘You never know what you can accomplish until you try.’” -Michael Jordan
24. “They joy of fatherhood also comes with moments of chaos, crying, tears, trips to doctors, etc. It is important to breathe. Take a deep breath in these moments of chaos. More than anything, cherish each moment.” -Zack Bush
25. “I have a daughter who’s going to be raised in this world, and my music and my art are powerful tools in getting that to be formed the way I want it to.” -Chance the Rapper
26. “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.
27. “Words have an awesome impact. The impression made by a father’s voice can set in motion an entire trend of life.” -Gordon MacDonald
28. “For unflagging interest and enjoyment, a household of children, if things go reasonably well, certainly makes all other forms of success and achievement lose their importance by comparison.” -Theodore Roosevelt
29. “I think [fatherhood] changes your relationship with time. I just don’t have time to waste. You gotta be really deliberate with how you choose to spend your day, because those are the moments you’re away from your child.” -Mahershala Ali
30. “Love isn’t enough despite what every sappy love song says; commitment to parenting was the missing piece. Commitment takes love on its back and carries it the whole way. When I’m committed to you, I learn to tell you no — not to hurt you but to help you grow and learn.” -Terry Crews
31. “You know everything you need to know about parenting in your tummy. When your alarm goes off, listen to it. Your instinct. You can double-think yourself, but your instinct is always right. Being a parent, without a doubt, is the most difficult job on the face of the planet. Period.” -Henry Winkler
32. “Kids put life into perspective. Life happens and you get bad news sometimes, or thing don’t go your way at work—for me that might mean I lose a game or not play well—but that doesn’t affect my mood from day to day. I love going home and seeing the smiles my daughters’ faces being happy to see me, and that makes everything all right.” -Steph Curry
33. “My dad taught me about the true value of hard work. He taught me about the importance of honoring commitments and pursuing your passions with a sense of tenacity. I’ve worked really hard to make these values a part of my daily life not just for me, but for [my] kids. Because I really believe it’s less about what you do and more so how you do it that defines your character.” -Chip Gaines
34. “My mother’s dad dropped out of the eight grade to work. He had to. By the time he was 30, he was a master plumber, carpenter, mason, mechanic. That guy was, to me, a magician. Anything that was broken he could fix. Anybody anywhere in our community knew that if there was a problem, Carl was there to fix it.” -Mike Rowe
35. “All you can do is hope, at the end of the road, that you’ve given your kids enough life lessons [so when] it’s time for them to live their life, they can flourish on their own because they’re going to have to make their own path as well. Even though we’ve set them up in the best way possible. And the same thing with being a husband. When you know you’re committed, everything else takes care of itself.” -LeBron James
36. “Our society has taught us that moms are supposed to do this type of stuff, but dads have a responsibility to take part in everything their kids do. I’m a hands-on dad. My kids are older now but they can come to me no matter what.” -Danny Trejo
37. “I used to be embarrassed because I was just a comic book writer while other people were building bridges or going on to medical careers. And then I began to realize: entertainment is one of the most important things in people’s lives. Without it they might go off the deep end. I feel that if you’re able to entertain people, you’re doing a good thing.” -Stan Lee
38. “Never is a man more of a man than when he is the father of a newborn.” -Matthew McConaughey
39. “I think it should be cool to be a good partner, a good spouse, a good father… If I’m one of the people who helps make that cooler, I think that’s great.” -John Legend
40. “Number one thing as a parent: Continuity and consistency. I try to get all my work stuff done when I don’t have the baby, because when I have the baby, everyone else can f*** off.” -Jeremy Renner
41. “I’ve been a parent for three weeks: What do I know? I don’t know anything, but it’s kind of part of the beauty of it, honestly. There are a lot of instincts, a lot of things that kind of kick in and switch on. It’s a beautiful experience.” -Adam Levine
42. “I think that my strong determination for justices comes from the very strong, dynamic personality of my father… I have rarely ever met a person more dearly and courageous… If I had a problem I could always call Daddy.” -Martin Luther King Jr.
43. “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
44. “My father didn’t tell me how to live. He lived and let me watch him do it.” -Clarence Budington Kelland
45. “One of the greatest things a father can do for his children is to love their mother.” -Howard W. Hunter
46. “‘Father is the noblest title a man can be given. It is more than a biological role. It signifies a patriarch, a leader, an exemplar, a confidant, a teacher, a hero, a friend.” -Robert L. Backman
47. “The hardest part of raising a child is teaching them to ride bicycles. A shaky child on a bicycle for the first time needs both support and freedom. The realization that this is what the child will always need can hit hard.” -Sloan Wilson
48. “Children will not remember you for the material things you gave them but for the feeling that you cherished them.” -Richard L. Evans
49. “Whenever someone was suffering, my dad was there. If he didn’t have Money, it was a smile or an embrace or whatever he had to help. That was around me my whole life.” -Richard Gere
50. “My dad and I were so close. He was my man. He taught me to be a man of my word — that giving my word is like I’ve signed a contract with you.” -Smokey Robinson
51. “Children learn to smile from their parents.” -Shinichi Suzuki
52. “If there is any immortality to be had among us human beings, it is certainly only in the love that we leave behind. Fathers like mine don’t ever die.” -Leo Buscaglia
53. “It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father.” -Pope John XXIII
54. “I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.” -Sigmund Freud
55. “It’s the most profound gift and the most daunting challenge.” -Matt Bomer
56. “My father didn’t do anything unusual. He only did what dads are supposed to do: be there.” -Max Lucado
57. “I don’t have to prepare to be wrapped around my daughter’s finger. I have been wrapped around her little finger since the day she plopped out into this world.” -Ryan Reynolds
58. “I have found the very best way to advise your children is to find out what they want to do and advise them to do it.” -Harry S. Truman
59. “I talk and talk and talk, and I haven’t taught people in 50 years what my father taught by example in one week.”-Mario Cuomo
60. [Fatherhood is] the greatest thing that could ever happen. You can’t explain it until it happens; it’s like telling somebody what water feels like before they’ve ever swam in it.” -Michael Bublé
61. “A father is a man who expects his children to be as good as he meant to be.” -Frank A. Clark
62. “When you meet your kids you realize that they deserve great parents. And then you have your marching orders, and you have to try and become the person they deserve.” -Ryan Gosling
63. “Daddies don’t just love their children every now and then, it’s a love without end.” -George Strait
64: “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
65. “If the past cannot teach the present, and the father cannot teach the son, then history need not have bothered to go on, and the world has wasted a great deal of time.” -Russel Hoban
66. “Life doesn’t come with an instruction book — that’s why we have fathers.” -H. Jackson Browne
67. “Fathering is not something perfect men do, but something that perfects the man.” -Frank Pittman
68: “I feel like the success of parenthood is feeling like I failed all day today, but I get to wake up tomorrow and do it again. And hopefully they turn out to be a good human being.” -Justin Timberlake
69. “Every parent is at some point the father of the unreturned prodigal, with nothing to do but keep his house open to hope.” -John Ciardi
70. “The strongest, toughest men all have compassion. They’re not heartless and cold. You have to be man enough to have compassion — to care about people and about your children.” -Denzel Washington
71. “Any fool can have a child. That doesn’t make you a father. It’s the courage to raise a child that makes you a father.” -Barack Obama
72. “I feel that the greatest gift I can give my children is the freedom to be who they are.” -Will Smith
73. “I’ve gotten to jump out of helicopters and do daring stunts and play baseball in a professional stadium, but none of them mean anything compared to being somebody’s daddy.” -Chris Pratt
74. “When I looked at you first I saw not your mother and me, but your two grandfathers… and, as my father, whom I loved a great deal, had died the year before, I was moved to see that here, in you, he was alive.” -Peter Carey
75. “I want to experience being a husband, experience being a father, experience, maybe, hopefully, someday being a grandfather, and all those things. I want that experience. When I die, I want to be exhausted.” -Bryan Cranston
Be sure to check out our other list of hilarious quotes about dads and being a father.
