37 Quotes About Stepfathers To Remind You Family Isn't Defined By DNA

As former president Barack Obama once said, "Any fool can have a child. That doesn't make you father." Being a dad has nothing to do with blood and biology, and you don't have to share DNA with someone to love them. Even if you already have a loving biological father, a stepdad can serve as a bonus adult who can raise you, nurture you, and teach you important life lessons along the way. So it's hardly surprising that some of the best Father's Day quotes include sweet quotes about stepdads, and sharing one (or more!) of those quotes with the stepfather in your life can help him know just how much you love and appreciate him.

Of course, wonderful stepfathers should be appreciated every day of the year, not just on Father's Day. However, if you're looking to show your bonus dad just how much you care on June 20 this year, then there are plenty of ways to do so. You can get him a special Father's Day gift for stepdads, or you can spoil him with a decadent Father's Day brunch. You can also plan a fun Father's Day activity for the two of you to do together (while keeping the ongoing COVID-19 crisis in mind). And if you're not sure what to write in your Father's Day card for your stepdad, then a great quote is the way to go.

On Father's Day (and heck, all the days of the year), share these quotes with the bonus dad in your life to make him feel loved and seen.

"To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there."

"There is no such thing as a broken family. Family is family and is not determined by marriage certificates, divorce papers, and adoption documents. Families are made in the heart."

"Stepparents, those fairy tale villains, have been given a bad name. They're easy targets. When the family goes awry, how easy to blame them. I was blessed by the right steps."

"The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other."

"The only steps in this house are the stair steps and only half in this house is the half & half creamer."

"My stepfather stepped in where no man would've stepped in — six kids, five of them boys — and that's heroic."

"I want to congratulate all the men out there who are working diligently to be good fathers, whether they are stepfathers, or biological fathers, or just spiritual fathers."

"My stepfather was an exemplary human being. It took me a lot of time to accept me as a parent. But what he did intelligently was he befriended me."

"I never had that wicked stepmother or evil stepfather thing at all. I'm very close to both step-parents and I consider them to be my parents, too."

"You can love someone like your son, even if he's not your biological son, and you can love someone like your father, even if he's not your biological father."

"My stepfather is my mentor. He's also like a father to me. He taught me how to be a man, how to carry myself, and how to handle my business."

"It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father."

"Stepparenting and being a stepsibling presents a lot of exciting opportunities. When families break up and re-form, there may be less order, less certainty, and a bit more trauma involved, but kids can end up having half-a-dozen parent figures."

"The power of dad in a child's life is unmatched."

"It takes a strong man to accept somebody else's children and step up to the plate another man left on the table."

"My mom is my heart. But my stepdad was my role model, the hardest working man I ever knew."

"Any man can help make a child, but it takes a special man to help raise a child."

"A good stepparent can literally turn the life of a child around."

"Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad, and thats why I call you dad, because you are so special to me. You taught me the game and you taught me how to play it right."

"It is not flesh and blood, but heart which makes us fathers and sons."

"Family isn't defined only by last names or by blood; its defined by commitment and by love. It means showing up when they need it most. It means having each other's backs. It means choosing to love each other even on those days when you struggle to like each other."

"A child cannot have too many people who love them and want to help them succeed."

"Families don't have to match. You don't have to look like someone else to love them."

"The only way I can describe it... at the end of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, you know how his heart grows, like, five times its size? Everything is full; it's just full all the time."

"A stepparent is so much more than just a parent. They made the choice to love when they didn't have to."

"[He] adopted a role called 'Being a Father' so that his child would have something mythical and infinitely important: a Protector."

"Stepparenting is like working at a late-night convenience store... all of the responsibility and none of the authority."

"Fatherhood requires love, not DNA."

"I may not be her birth father, but I am there with her every step of the way as she makes her way through the world."

"[He] has been there for the hard stuff. The trust that I got from him in terms of his dependability was just priceless for me."

"Lookin' back, all I can say about all the things he did for me is I hope I'm at least half the dad that he didn't have to be."

"My stepdad may not have given me life, but he sure made my life better."

"He never treated me like I was a package deal — something or someone he would have to accept if he wanted my mom in his life. I wasn't a burden in his eyes, I was a bonus."

"Any fool can have a child. That doesn't make you a father. It's the courage to raise a child that makes you a father."

"Stepparents are not around to replace a biological parent, rather to augment a child's life experience."

"We aren't 'step,' we aren't 'half,' we're just family."

"When someone takes you on as their own when you're not biologically their own, I think is really special... [My stepdad] didn't have to raise me. Like, he wanted to."

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