What Makes a Good Father

A Japanese student in my class did a small survey for her paper,which asked just one question:What makes a good father? She received more than 100 email responses and came up with the top three characteristics of a good father:

1.A good temper

2.Nice to mom

3.Smart and funny

After piquing my curiosity with the top three,she then proceeded to outline the rankings past the top three:

4.Smart dresser / up with the times

5.Fun talker and good listener

6.Enjoys his work

7.Manly

8.Good with children

9.Has a lot of friends

10.Good at sports

I asked her,“What do you think of these answers?”

She thought for a second before answering,“I couldn’t help but notice that no one considers a man with money and power.” (FromShanghai Elderly News,June 20,2020.Translation:Lu Qiongyao)

班上有个日本学生为写论文做了一个小调查，设问的题目是：最理想的父亲应该是什么样子？她收回100多份邮件答卷，得出了最理想的前三名：

1. 脾气好；

2. 对妈妈好；

3. 聪明且幽默。

另外，她还告诉了我前三名以后的排行榜：

4. 打扮时尚，不土；

5. 说话有趣，认真听对方说话；

6. 热爱工作；

7. 有男子气；

8. 为孩子操心；

9. 周围朋友多；

10. 擅长运动。

我问她：“你最大的感想是什么呢？”她想了想说：“我最大的感想是，没人说有钱有权的父亲最理想。” （摘自《上海老年报》2020年6月20日）