50 Absent Father Quotes For Healing and Encouragement

Inform yourself about the importance of parents to a child with these absent father quotes.

Did you know that according to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 18.4 million children live without a biological, step, or adoptive father in their home or life?

To put that into perspective, that means 1 in 4 children in the U.S. does not have a father or father figure in their lives.

18.4 million children is a lot of people. That is enough children to fill New York City and Los Angeles four times over.

Common sense tells us that it is essential that parents are in the lives of their children.

On the one hand, an overwhelming amount of research and data supports the idea that a father’s absence negatively impacts the trajectory of children in various ways.

On the other hand, a father’s presence has been proven to increase differences in the lives of both children and mothers.

The absent father quotes below do a good job of showing the effects of an absent father.

Effects of an Absent Father Quotes

This first collection of quotes does a good job of summarizing the effects of an absent father. Take a look below.

1. “Just because your father’s present doesn’t mean he isn’t absent.” – Elizabeth Acevedo

2. “Don’t be an absent father!” – Abu Muawiyah Ismail Kamdar

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

4. “Respect to all moms doing double duty because of men failing to do their part as dad.” – John Mark Green

5. “To be in your children’s memories tomorrow, you have to be in their lives today.” – Barbara Johnson

6. “Don’t forgive him. Forgive yourself for believing there is something lacking in you because he wasn’t there.” – Iyanla Vanzant

7. “Hey “dad” I did it without you.” – Anonymous

8. “The psychological absence of fathers can be nearly as devastating as physical absence.” -Victoria Secunda

9. “It is a wise father that knows his own child.” – William Shakespeare

10. “A father may turn his back on his child, but a mother’s love endures through all.” – Washington Irving

Absent Father Quotes on the Need for a Father

There is no denying that children need a present and loving father. Check out the quotes below for more information.

11. “So many of our young women today, they’re growing up without a father, but they’re still thirsty for that and desiring positive male love.” – Hill Harper

12. “I was an absent dad. Once the magazine started, I really had two families. The dream was the magazine. I worked through the night all the time.” – Hugh Hefner

13. “My father didn’t do anything unusual. He only did what dads are supposed to do: be there.” – Max Lucado

14. “Boys want to grow up to be like their male role models.” – Geoffrey Canada

15. “An absent father is like a ghost that lives in the back of your mind.” – Anonymous

16. “I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection” – Sigmund Freud

17. “And boys who grow up in homes with absent fathers search the hardest to figure out what it means to be male.” – Geoffrey Canada

18. “However busy a father is, he will find time for his child.” – Anonymous

19. “Fathers should be neither seen nor heard. That is the only proper basis for family life.” – Oscar Wilde

Absent Father Quotes From Mother

A mother knows how important it is to have a Father involved with children. The quotes below do a good job of showing that.

20. “You know, if fathers just did what they’re supposed to do, half of the junk that we face in the streets wouldn’t exist.” – Nathan Hayes

21. “Real dads are supportive.” – Anonymous

22. “The love you never received as a child, a daughter, or you didn’t get it from your father; he might have been absent your entire upbringing.” – Chimnese Davids

23. “Why do people marry versions of their controlling mothers? Or absent fathers? To have a shot at righting old wrongs”. – Blake Crouch

24. “There is something absent in me, I thought. There was something empty in me that in other people was full.” – Julie Schumacher

25. “A bad father has never a good son. “ – Latin Proverb

26. “An absent father needs to realize his child’s needs before it is too late.” – Anonymous

27. “The parents left you on your own and because of that you missed out on the true form of LOVE.” – Chimnese Davids

28. “When a father, absent during the day, returns home at six, his children receive only his temperament, not his teaching.” – Robert Bly

29. “If she could put the hollow ache that haunts her into words, she would tell him “I miss the father you never were.” – John Mark Green

30. “No I will not beg or bribe anyone to be involved in my children’s lives. If you don’t come around, it sucks to be you.” – Anonymous

Absent Father Quotes From Daughter

This set of absent father quotes are from the perspective of a daughter. They will tug at your heartstrings.

31. “I will even suggest that we don’t have a drug and alcohol problem, nor do we have a crime problem rather, these are only the symptoms that we are experiencing, and the real problem is broken homes that result in broken lives.” – Drexel Deal

32. “As old as she was… She still missed her daddy sometimes.” – Anonymous

33. “The psychological absence of fathers can be nearly as devastating as physical absence. When fathers are alive but not a predictable presence actively participating in their daughter’s lives the relationship becomes a permanent maybe.” – Victoria Secunda

34. “One must balance being a good provider and a father who is there for his children.” -Anonymous

35. “I come from the school of thought where a dad’s absence is something to be counted on. Now I see all the men with camouflage diaper bags and babies hanging from their chests like little ship figureheads.” – Kaui Hart Hemmings

36. “The absent are never without fault, nor the present without excuse.” – Benjamin Franklin

37. “Dear absent father from the mother of a dadyless daughter..i just want to say ..Thank you and you are welcome!” – Anonymous

38. “Father absence has been implicated in anorexia nervosa, in which daughters may exhibit literal father hunger by starving themselves.” – Victoria Secunda

39. “Fathers, your are the head and strength of the family unit. If you are not in place, there is a weakness in the link.” – Anita R. Sneed-Carter

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

Absent Father Quotes From Son

This last set of absent father quotes are from the perspective of a son. It isn’t easy to grow up to be a good man, and it is even harder without having a good male influence.

41. “There would be fewer absent fathers, if straight men were turned on only by women with whom they would not mind having children.” – Mokokoma Mokhonoana

42. “Many of us might have grown up in a house that lacked love, or even without parental supervision.” – Chimnese Davids

43. “One of the things about being a boy, especially growing up without a father, is you really don’t have that role model to teach you how to do things.” – Art Alexakis

44. “Daddy’s in the army, there’s a war in Vietnam / Mama kept us going with her sewing and a prayer / It’s hard to be a family when your daddy’s missing.” – Crowell Church

45. “Fathers have a unique and irreplaceable role in the lives of children.” – George W. Bush

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

47. “When fathers are alive but not a predictable presence actively participating in their daughter’s lives the relationship becomes a permanent maybe.” – Victoria Secunda

48. “Father take note! Children will always remember the man who treated them with love and affection!” – Abu Muawiyah Ismail Kamdar

49. “Because my father was absent on naval duty, my mother suffered me to do as much as I pleased.” – John James Audubon

50. “My dad was a good man but an emotionally absent father, and so I had to look for that male attention somewhere else, and found it in a brother-in-law. He just happened to be an alcoholic.” – Jim Hamilton

We need to have more conversations about the parenting extremes in our country.

Data on absent fathers show that over 7 million fathers were missing from the lives of their minor children.

At the same time, there are over 2 million single dads raising children by themselves.

Divorce is the leading cause of fatherless homes. Children of fatherless homes can have profound psychological scars.

Additionally, children of absent parents are more likely to live in poverty, face incarceration, have unplanned pregnancies, and have higher rates of suicide.

Unquestionably, children do not understand the complicated nuances of relationships.

As a result, many children internalize the absence of a parent and blame themselves.

Motivational speaker Iyanla Vanzant gave powerful advice for those going through that psychological struggle.

She encouragingly lamented, “Don’t forgive him. Forgive yourself for believing there is something lacking in you because he wasn’t there.”

Being present in our children’s lives is a basic measure we can take to ensure their health.

Did some of the absent father quotes apply to you or a close friend or family member? How did it impact you or them?