60 Father and Son Quotes to Strengthen Your Relationship

Use these father and son quotes to strengthen your relationship with the fathers and sons in your life.

There is no manual for being a parent.

There are no IKEA picture instructions on how to raise your kid to be a good person.

The best we get is our memories of how our parents raised us and our reflections on how we felt about those experiences.

Without a how-to book, being a parent can be a frightening thing. 

But no matter how unsure a dad might be about how to raise their kid the right way, there is one thing for sure: a father’s love for his son is like no other.

The bond that grows between a father and a son throughout a lifetime is beyond precious. 

So, whether your son is still a baby, a teenager, or a fully-grown man, these father and son quotes are sure to hit at home.

Take a look at these inspirational father and son quotes that will strengthen your relationship.

We also have a collection of father and daughter quotes honoring their unbreakable bond.

Be sure to check it out too.

Check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily inspiration. 

Check out our entire collection of motivational quotes here. 

Father and Son quotes about becoming a new dad

1. “New dads aren’t aware that infants are both blessings and black holes that drain sleep, time and passion.” – Brick Scorn

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2. “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 Gree

3. “Some dads liken the impending birth of a child to the beginning of a great journey.” — Marcus Jacob Goldman

4. “He adopted a role called being a father so that his child would have something mythical and infinitely important: a protector.” — Tom Wolfe

If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of adoption quotes about the power of expanding your family and helping others.

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

6. “Men should always change diapers. It’s a very rewarding experience. It’s mentally cleansing. It’s like washing dishes, but imagine if the dishes were your kids, so you really love the dishes.” — Chris Martin

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Father and Son quotes about what it means to be a dad

7. “Becoming a dad is one thing – being a dad is many things.” – Steve Chapman

8. “Like so much between fathers and sons, playing catch was tender and tense at the same time.” – Donald Hall

9. “Being a father means you have to think fast on your feet. You must be judicious, wise, brave, tender, and willing to put on a frilly hat and sit down to a pretend tea party.” – Matthew Buckley

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

11. “Of all the titles I’ve been privileged to have, ‘Dad’ has always been the best.” – Ken Norton

12. “Life doesn’t come with an instruction book — that’s why we have fathers.” – H. Jackson Browne

13. “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.

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

15. “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

16. “No man can possibly know what life means, what the world means, what anything means, until he has a child and loves it.” — Lafcadio Hearn

Don’t forget to also check out these step dad quotes that will make you appreciate your blended family.

Father and Son quotes about learning

17. “Fathering is not something perfect men do, but something that perfects the man.” – Frank Pittman

18. “When you teach your son, you teach your son’s son.” – The Talmud

19. “The father who does not teach his son his duties is equally guilty with the son who neglects them.” – Confucius

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

21. “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

22. “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.” — Russell Hoban

23. “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

24. “My father didn’t tell me how to live; he lived and let me watch him do it.” — Clarence B. Kelland

25. “A good father believes that he does wisely to encourage enterprise, productive skill, prudent self-denial, and judicious expenditure on the part of his son.” — William Graham Summer

26. “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.” — Mark Twain

27. “My father believed in toughness, honesty, politeness, and being on time. All very important lessons.” — Roger Moore

28. “Every father should remember that one day his son will follow his example instead of his advice.” — Charles F. Kettering

29. “Thanks Dad, for all those extraordinary lessons you taught me without even trying.” — Unknown

Father and Son quotes about the relationship between a father and son

30. “With sons and fathers, there’s an inexplicable connection and imprint that your father leaves on you.” – Brad Pitt

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

32. “A father is a man who expects his son to be as good a man as he meant to be.” — Frank A. Clark

33. “When a father gives to his son, both laugh; when a son gives to his father, both cry.” — William Shakespeare

34. “Sons have always a rebellious wish to be disillusioned by that which charmed their fathers.” — Aldous Huxley

35. “The fact my relationship with my son is so good makes me forgiving of my father and also appreciative.” — Anthony Kiedis

36. “What was silent in the father speaks in the son, and often I found in the son the unveiled secret of the father.” — Friedrich Nietzsche

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

38. “I would want my legacy to be that I was a great son, father, and friend.” — Dante Hall

39. “Fatherhood is great because you can ruin someone from scratch.” — John Stewart

40. “I am a family man, and my most important role is a father to my son.” — Ed Skrein

41. “For thousands of years, father and son have stretched wistful hands across the canyon of time.” — Alan Valentine

42. “Daddies don’t just love their children every now and then, it’s a love without end.” – George Strait

Father and Son quotes about being a role model

43. “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

44. When you’re young, you think your dad is Superman. Then you grow up, and you realize he’s just a regular guy who wears a cape.” — Dave Attel

45. Forget Batman: when I really thought about what I wanted to be when I grew up, I wanted to be my dad.” — Paul Asay

46. “Every son’s first superhero is his father, and it was the same for me. For me, he was Superman and Batman combined.” — Tiger Shroff

47. “Becoming a dad means you have to be a role model for your son and be someone he can look up to.” — Wayne Rooney

48. “Every son quotes his father, in words and in deeds.” – Terri Guillemets

49. “The quality of a father can be seen in the goals, dreams and aspirations he sets not only for himself, but for his family.” – Reed Markham

50. “The older I get, the smarter my father seems to get.!”— Tim Russert

If you’re enjoying these quotes, read our collection of Father’s Day quotes, celebrating dads all around the world.

Father and son quotes that are full of wisdom

51. “He promised us that everything would be okay. I was a child, but I knew that everything would not be okay. That did not make my father a liar. It made him my father.” — Jonathan Safran Foer

52. “My dad is my best friend, my father, and my boss. When I do something that is exciting and he likes it, it feels three times as good as you can imagine.” — David Lauren

53. “Until you have a son of your own… you will never know the joy, the love beyond feeling that resonates in the heart of a father as he looks upon his son.” — Kent Nerburn

54. “My father was my teacher. But most importantly he was a great dad.” — Beau Bridges

55. “My father taught me not to overthink things, that nothing will ever be perfect, so just keep moving and do your best.” — Scott Eastwood

56. “As a father, you want the best for your son, quite obviously. You want to create the best memories for your son.” — Bill Goldberg

57. “It was my father who taught us that an immigrant must work twice as hard as anybody else, that he must never give up.” — Zinedine Zidane

58. “Every son quotes his father, in words and in deeds.” — Terri Guillemets

59. “Like father like son: Every good tree maketh good fruits.” — William Langland

60. “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.” — Wally Schirra

Were you moved by these father and son quotes?

Whether you are about to be a new dad embarking on a lifelong adventure with your newborn son, or are already an experienced father, these quotes about the relationship between a father and son are sure to resonate with you. 

A father is a role model for their children.

A father teaches their son about life, success, and how to be a good person through their words and actions.

As they’re growing up, a son will look up to their father for validation, to make sure that they are making the right choices.

While a father may not always have the answer, he will always have love, encouragement, and anecdotes of his own experiences to give advice.

Let these father and son quotes inspire you to build a sturdy relationship with your family. 

You might also like these National Sons Day quotes!

Tell us, in the comment section below, which of these quotes resonated with you best, and don’t forget to share with your friends and followers.