National Sons Day is September 28—the perfect time to let the boy you raised know just how important a place they have in your life and how much you love them! Sure, boys may be loud and messy (and sometimes smelly!), but they are truly amazing creatures, aren’t they? Children are one of the biggest blessings in our lives, and there’s nothing quite like getting a hug from your son.
In honor of those special boys, we have gathered some of the most heartfelt son quotes we could find. Some of the son quotes on this list represent the special bond between mothers and sons, and other boy quotes speak of the ever-changing relationship between fathers and sons. You’ll also find Bible passages about sons and funny sayings about raising boys that will make for hilarious Instagram captions.
Keep on reading and muse over these 75 quotes about sons. Hopefully, they will resonate with you and remind you how much you love and appreciate your son—even when he’s testing your patience!
75 Son Quotes
1. “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.” — NASA astronaut Walter M. Schirra, Sr.
2. “The years will rush by, and one day you will be watching your son as a man, and feeling incredibly proud that he is caring, safe, making a contribution, and hopefully going far beyond you in the scope of his life.” — Steve Biddulph, Raising Boys
3. “He doesn’t know you’re watching him, but in this special, reflective moment, you realize he’s growing up.” — Robert Lewis, Raising a Modern-Day Knight
4. “Giving your son a skill is better than giving him one thousand pieces of gold.” — Chinese Proverb
5. “If you would have your son to walk honorably through the world, you must not attempt to clear the stones from his path but teach him to walk firmly over them—not insist upon leading him by the hand, but let him learn to go alone.” — Anne Brontë, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
6. “Until you have a son of your own, you will never know what that means. You will never know the joy beyond joy, the love beyond feeling that resonates in the heart of a father as he looks upon his son.” — Kent Nerburn, Letters to My Son
7. “Son, you will outgrow my lap, but never my heart.” — Unknown
8. “Of all the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable.” — Plato
9. “When you teach your son, you teach your son’s son.” — The Talmud
10. “Our sons grow and change, sometimes before our eyes, and we can barely keep up with their active, inquisitive natures.” — Dr. Gregory L. Jantz, Raising Boys by Design
11. “There is no greater privilege in living than bringing a tiny new human being into the world and then trying to raise him or her properly during the next eighteen years.” — James C. Dobson, Bringing Up Boys
Related: Best Quotes About Children
12. “Your son will open your eyes, broaden your knowledge, and help your sense of humor.” — Michael Thompson, Ph.D., Speaking of Boys
13. “Sometimes when I need a miracle, I look into my son’s eyes, and realize I’ve already created one.” — Unknown
14. “A boy is a magical creature—you can lock him out of your workshop, but you can’t lock him out of your heart.” — Allan Beck
15. “A man ain’t nothing but a man. But a son? Well, now, that’s somebody.” — Toni Morrison, Beloved
16. “Let your boys test their wings. They may not be eagles, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t soar free.” — C.J. Milbrandt, On Your Marks
Related: Inspiring Quotes About Motherhood
Quotes About Sons and Fathers
17. “No love is greater than that of a father for his son.” — Dan Brown, Angels & Demons
18. “When a father gives to his son, both laugh; when a son gives to his father, both cry.” — Yiddish Proverb
19. “Every father should remember that one day his son will follow his example rather than his advice.” — Charles F. Kettering
20. “When your son grows up, become his brother.” — Arabic Proverb
21. “It is not flesh and blood, but heart which makes us fathers and sons.” — Friedrich von Schiller
22. “Do I want to be a hero to my son? No. I would like to be a very real human being. That’s hard enough.” — Robert Downey Jr.
23.“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.” — LeBron James
24. “One of the greatest gifts you can give your teenage boy is the gift of letting him know you get it. You’ve been there.” — Sebastian R. Jones
25. “I hope I can be as good of a father to my son as my dad was to me.” — Calvin Johnson
26. “Sons are born to make their fathers better men.” ― Mekael Shane
27. “I’m struck by a few things today, most of which is the power of the invisible role model… Perhaps it’s the newfound clarity I have as a father knowing that my son will always be watching what I do, mimicking my behavior, one day maybe even following in my footsteps.” — Prince Harry
28. “A son’s first hero is his dad.” — Unknown
29. “Becoming a dad means you have to be a role model for your son and be someone he can look up to.” — Wayne Rooney
30. “My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person; he believed in me.” — Jim Valvano
31. “No matter how tall a son grows, he will always look up to his dad.” — Unknown
32. “With sons and fathers, there’s an inexplicable connection and imprint that your father leaves on you.” — Brad Pitt
33. “A father is a teacher, a singer, a doctor, a lawyer & every heroic character to his son. But a son is only a son to a father.” ― Sajal Sazzad
34. “The fact my relationship with my son is so good makes me forgiving of my father and also appreciative.” — Anthony Kiedis
35. “Not every father gets a chance to start his son off in his own footsteps.” — Alan Ladd
36. “It’s a father’s duty to give his sons a fine chance.” — George Eliot
37. “By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he’s wrong.” — Charles Wadsworth
38. “As a father, you want the best for your son, quite obviously. You want to create the best memories for your son.” — Bill Goldberg
39. “I am a family man, and my most important role is a father to my son.” — Ed Skrein
40. “A son needs his father at every situation he faces in present, and a father needs his son at every situation he faces for his son in past.” — Nishan Panwar
41. “If you want a son to grow up into a man you can be proud of, be a man he can be proud of.” — Anonymous
42. “A father is a man who expects his son to be as good a man as he meant to be.” — Frank A. Clark
43. “For thousands of years, father and son have stretched wistful hands across the canyon of time.” — Alan Valentine
44. “Like father like son: Every good tree maketh good fruits.” — William Langland
Related: 125 Quotes About Being a Parent
Quotes About Sons and Mothers
45. “A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest.” — Irish Proverb
46. “A mother’s love doesn’t make her son more dependent and timid; it actually makes him stronger and more independent.” — Cheri Fuller, What a Son Needs From His Mom
47. “Raising boys has made me a more generous woman than I really am.” — Mary Kay Blakely
48. “There is an enduring tenderness in the love of a mother to a son that transcends all other affections of the heart.” — Washington Irving
49. “Sons are the anchors of a mother’s life.” — Sophocles
50. “Happy is the son whose faith in his mother remains unchallenged.” — Louisa May Alcott
51. “To wake up to the sound of my son saying ‘Mama, mama!’ It’s the best sound ever.” — Miranda Kerr
52. “The most important mark I will leave on this world is my son.” —Sarah Shahi
53. “Mother is her son’s first god; she must teach him the most important lesson of all—how to love.” ― T.F. Hodge, From Within I Rise
54. “And she loved a little boy very, very much—even more than she loved herself.” — Shel Silverstein, The Giving Tree
55. “Men are what their mothers made them.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
56. “I want my son to become aware that he is in charge of the choices he makes, and it’s good to make thoughtful good choices.” — Karen Salmansohn
57. “So there’s this boy. He kind of stole my heart. He calls me ‘Mom.’” — Unknown
58. “Heaven on Earth is looking at my little boy.” — Jenny McCarthy
59. “To be a mother of a son is one of the most important things you can do to change the world. Raise them to respect women, raise them to stand up for others, raise them to be kind.” — Shannon L. Alder
60. “Sons may grow into men and grow out of their toys, but in the hearts of their mothers they are still their little boys.” — Unknown
61. “I live for my sons. I would be lost without them.” — Princess Diana
62. “My greatest blessing has been the birth of my son. My next greatest blessing has been my ability to turn people into children of mine.” — Maya Angelou
63. “The only man who has stolen my heart is my son.” — Sandra Bullock
64. “Even more than the time when she gave birth, a mother feels her greatest joy when she hears others refer to her son as a wise learned one.” ― Thiruvalluvar
65. “There has never been, nor will there ever be, anything quite so special as the love between the mother and a son.” — Anonymous
66. “Mothers are inscrutable beings to their sons, always.” — A.E. Coppard, Dusky Ruth
Related: 101 Quotes About Being a Blended Family
Son Quotes from the Bible
67. “Behold, sons are a gift from the Lord. Happy the man whose quiver is filled with them.” — Psalm 127: 3-5
68. “My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad indeed.” — Proverbs 23:15
69. “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.” — Proverbs 1:8-9
70. “Correct your son, and he will give you comfort; He will also delight your soul.” — Proverbs 29:17
71. “And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.” — Luke 15:31
Funny Instagram Quotes About Sons
72. Boys: Less drama than girls. But harder to keep alive.
73. A boy-mom win is sitting on the toilet and it not being covered in pee.
74. 50% of raising boys is trying to get them to wear pants in the winter.
75. My friend asked what it was like to live in a house full of boys, so I peed on her bathroom floor, ate everything in her fridge, told her 800 stories about Minecraft, farted 20 times, and when she was ready to kill me, I gave her a hug and told her she was pretty.
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