President Barack Obama is celebrating Father's Day weekend in the United States with a reminder for dads that children want their time and unconditional love above all else.

In his weekly address to the nation Saturday, Mr. Obama said growing up without a father encouraged him to work hard at doing his best to raise his daughters, Malia and Sasha.

Mr. Obama's parents separated when he was two years old, and the future president met his late father only once more, when he was still a young boy. Raised primarily by his grandparents in Hawaii, the president said he wonders what life would have been like with his father in the home.

Mr. Obama says he has learned that children need consistency and discipline from parents to help them to establish their own sense of responsibility.