He always feared he'd fail as a dad. His son's b'day text convinced him he was a better dad than his father

Parenting comes with no manual, especially for those who grew up without a healthy example. The fear of passing down pain or repeating mistakes holds people back from starting families of their own. But hearing your child express love, gratitude, and pride in how they were raised can be one of the most reassuring moments for any parent. For one father, u/honkeylips, on Reddit, that epiphany came right on his birthday. The man shared a deeply personal moment when his son sent him a heartfelt message admiring him as a father. In his caption, he wrote, "It was my birthday on the 24th, and I received this text from my eldest son (22-year-old) at midnight."

The message from his son read, "Thanks for genuinely being the best dad ever. I took our relationship for granted for the longest time, but I've met so many people here who have the absolute worst things to say about their parents, and it's insane to me. I take every chance I get to talk about how great mine are. You've set me up for success in more ways than I can put into a text and are the biggest inspiration in my life. Happy birthday. I love and miss you lots."

The words hit home for the father, who had carried a quiet fear for years. He said in the post, "I never wanted kids because I was terrified of ruining their lives by being as awful of a father as mine was to me." But this message, which arrived at midnight, became the most unexpected birthday gift for him. Many people resonated deeply with the post and shared how much it reminded them of their relationships with their parents, both good and bad. u/Skantrixa commented, "This is me. I got to appreciate my parents more when I got older and started living on my own." u/Sa7aSa7a admitted, "I would have straight up ugly cried at that." 

Others picked up on the depth of the son’s awareness. u/DaringDeeX noted, "You can tell he's comparing notes with peers and realizing your worth." u/Mother_Citron4728 added, "You earned that. Those are the words of someone who really feels every last word. You did good, Dad." u/No_Philosophy_6817 shared a similar experience, "I was terrified of having kids because I was (and still am as they're only 10m and 12f) afraid that I would never be able to be as good of a Mom as mine was. I hope my late husband is happy with how I'm doing so far because he wanted our kids to have all the love and support that he never did. OP, you rock! Keep up the good work."

u/TheBellRingerDE penned, "Thanks for being such a good dad, seriously. Mine were the worst, so people like you restore my faith in humanity." u/Doubleucommadj shared, "Heck yeah! My dad sort of assumed the support role for me around that age. He worked his butt off for our family, but I was only then able to understand the effort. I ain’t even got kids, so I’ve no comparison, but you did right by that one. I know that much. Keep it up!" u/Ruby-Skylar said, "I'd rather get something like this from my boy than a $1000 gift. This is priceless. Good job, dad."