Father's Day Quotes to Warm the Heart

Father’s Day is a day to celebrate all that fathers and father figures do – all the love and sacrifices, the examples set, and the sharing of wisdom. Fatherhood is something to be honored and valued, and there are many ways to show our appreciation.

In recognition of Dads everywhere, we’ve put together a list of our favorite quotes praising fatherhood. Some will make you chuckle, others will tug at the heart strings, and any one of them can inspire a heartfelt card or message to Dad.

photo via alexwendpap

1. “It is much easier to become a father than to be one.” — Kent Nerburn

2. “Any man can be a Father but it takes someone special to be a dad.” — Anne Geddes

3. “Becoming a father, I think it inevitably changes your perspective of life. The simplest things in life are completely satisfying.” — Hugh Jackman

6. “A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty.” — Unknown

7. “I have found that the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it.” — Harry S. Truman

8. “My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.” — Jim Valvano

9. “A man’s worth is measured by how he parents his children. What he gives them, what he keeps away from them, the lessons he teaches and the lessons he allows them to learn on their own.” — Lisa Rogers

10. “One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters.” — George Herbert

12. “I am not ashamed to say that no man I ever met was my father’s equal, and I never loved any other man as much.” — Hedy Lamarr

13. “Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance.” —Ruth E. Renkel

14. “Being a great father is like shaving. No matter how good you shaved today, you have to do it again tomorrow.” — Reed Markham

15. “Dads are most ordinary men turned by love into heroes, adventurers, story-tellers, singers of songs.” — Pam Brown

16. “The righteous man walks in his integrity; his children are blessed after him.” — Proverbs 20:7 (NKJV)

17. “It doesn’t matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was.” — Anne Sexton

18. “I’ve had a hard life, but my hardships are nothing against the hardships that my father went through in order to get me to where I started. ” — Bartrand Hubbard

19. “From great oaks, little acorns grow.” — Latin Proverb

20. “Every father should remember that one day his son will follow his example instead of his advice.” — Unknown

22. “Love and fear. Everything the father of a family says must inspire one or the other.” — Joseph Joubert

23. “Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance.” — Ruth E. Renkel

24. “Dad, you’re someone to look up to no matter how tall I’ve grown.” — Unknown

25. “It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived.” — Harper Lee

26. “The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.” — Theodore Hesburgh

27. “A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society.” — Billy Graham

28. “Fathers, like mothers, are not born. Men grow into fathers – and fathering is a very important stage in their development.” — David M. Gottesman

29. “It’s only when you grow up, and step back from him, or leave him for your own career and your own home – it’s only then that you can measure his greatness and fully appreciate it. Pride reinforces love.” — Margaret Truman

30. “There are three stages of a man’s life: He believes in Santa Claus, he doesn’t believe in Santa Claus, he is Santa Claus.” — Unknown

Sons and Daughters

photo via Amanda Tipton

31. “A father is his daughter’s first love and his son’s first hero.” — Unknown

32. “The father of a daughter is nothing but a high-class hostage. A father turns a stony face to his sons, berates them, shakes his antlers, paws the ground, snorts, runs them off into the underbrush, but when his daughter puts her arm over his shoulder and says, ‘Daddy, I need to ask you something,’ he is a pat of butter in a hot frying pan.” — Garrison Keillor

33. “By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he’s wrong.” — Charles Wadsworth

34. “It was my father who taught me to value myself. He told me that I was uncommonly beautiful and that I was the most precious thing in his life.” — Dawn French

35. “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

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

37. “It is admirable for a man to take his son fishing, but there is a special place in heaven for the father who takes his daughter shopping.” — John Sinor

38. “The reward of child rearing is spending the rest of your life proudly knowing this person you helped guide. Let him be himself.” — Mike Sager

39. “Lately all my friends are worried that they’re turning into their fathers. I’m worried that I am not.” — Dan Zevin

Funny Quotes

41. “A father is a guy who has snapshots in his wallet where his money used to be.” — Unknown

42. “Children are a great comfort in your old age. And they help you reach it faster too.” — Lionel Kauffman

43. “There should be a children’s song: ‘If you’re happy and you know it, keep it to yourself and let your dad sleep.'” — Jim Gaffigan

44. “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

45. “To be a successful father there’s one absolute rule: when you have a kid, don’t look at it for the first two years.” — Ernest Hemingway

Quotes like these always put smiles on our faces and remind us how great a Dad can be. They are also a great way to finish a Father’s Day card if you find yourself short on words. Don’t quite know what to get him? We’ve got you covered there too! Take a look at some of the unique gifts we have online by clicking here.

Top photo via Lotus Carroll