March 28, 2024

The Joy of Being a Father: 23 Inspiring Quotes

This Sunday we celebrate the fathers that raised us. Here are some inspirational quotes from famous fathers on what they find to be the best part of their job.

1. “Having a daughter makes you see things in a different way. This is my only girl. So I don’t care what it takes to protect her. You can call it what you want to call it. As long as you treat her the same way I treat her, like my princess, I don’t mind.”

2. “When I come home, my daughter will run to the door and give me a big hug, and everything that’s happened that day just melts away.”

3. “You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you.”

4. “But now, being a parent, I go home and see my son and I forget about any mistake I ever made or the reason I’m upset. I get home and my son is smiling or he comes running to me. It has just made me grow as an individual and grow as a man.”

5. “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 the old man had learned in seven years.”

6. “[Fatherhood] changes you completely. If things didn’t go my way before, I became withdrawn and didn’t want to see or listen to anyone. Now, when I arrive home, I see my son and everything is OK. He’s the most important thing to me now.”

7. “I’ve always traveled with a picture of my daughter from 1989, her kindergarten school picture, that has ‘I love you, Daddy’ written on it. She’s always made fun of me because I never changed that picture out. It’s like my resistance to her getting older. It was the first thing she’d ever written to me and it means the world to me.”

8. “She’s amazing. The problem is she’s infinitely more sophisticated than I am, and she can run circles around me and she knows she’s got me wrapped around the finger.”

9. “I’m looking at [my daughter] right now. To think that I am her dad is the greatest honor in the world. She’s an amazing kid. We have a great relationship and she is one of my closest friends. I seek her advice. I like to know what she thinks about things, and she’s helped me through some really tough times. I just look forward to years of developing that relationship.”

10. “I love the moments when I engage with my youngest daughter now. It’s not my thing to sit on the ground and play tea party, but I’ll do it because it’s a moment that will stick with me forever.”

11. “My son’s the most precious thing to me; he’s changed me from being selfish to selfless.”

12. “I took my daughter to the father-daughter dance and I cried like a little baby. She’s 11 years old, so seeing her get dressed up and pretty made me cry.”

13. “We already had an adopted daughter, 10-year-old Courtney, from my previous marriage. To me, there is no difference between ‘natural’ and ‘adopted.’ My own childhood showed me that when it comes to loving your kids, concepts like that don’t apply. I was the oldest of six, and three of my siblings were adopted. Mom and Dad even took in foster children. ‘There are no limits to how much you can love,’ Dad always said.”

14. “As I now often tell my daughter Lila, no matter what stage of life you’re in, when you want something—no matter how impossible it seems—you need to fight for it. When you believe in something, fight for it. And when you see injustice, fight harder than you’ve ever fought before.”

15. “It’s much worse to read criticism about your son than yourself.”
Former President George H.W. Bush

16. “I’ve never worried about anything in my life a fraction of the way I worry about my daughter. It’s much more than hoping people like the play you’re in, or that your outfit doesn’t look bad. It’s the real deal.”

17. “Spending quality time with Ava every day is so rewarding. Every day when I come home, I drop everything to look for her. I can’t wait to see what she’s doing, and I always hope she allows me to join her. Whether it’s running around outside, bathtime, or reading a book, any time I can spend with her or any time I can get her to smile or laugh is a wonderful experience.”

18. “I want to be here for a long time, so I am going to do everything I have to do to be here. And I want to walk my daughter down the aisle and give her away to somebody some day. I want to make sure I am still here to make sure my two young [sons] become men.”

19. “Don’t worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.”

20. “I guess I’m like any other concerned father, except that nobody else’s son guns a cycle over 17 pickups without holding on to the handlebars.”

21. “Life changes when you have a child, when you have your own family. You become more careful about what you do. You’re not going to be out late, going out to clubs, hanging out with your friends. You’re going to be at home, taking care of your daughter, playing with her.”

22. “I thought being on stage was an amazing feeling, but there is nothing that can top watching my wife bring our son in to this world.”

23. “I never saw my dad cry. My son saw me cry. My dad never told me he loved me, and consequently I told Scott I loved him every other minute. The point is, I’ll make less mistakes than my dad, my sons hopefully will make less mistakes than me, and their sons will make less mistakes than their dads. And one of these days, maybe we’ll raise a perfect Caan.”

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