Rating Myself as a Father on this Fathers' Day

Let’s me start by wishing all the fathers (at least here in the US) a Happy Fathers’ Day!

Overall, I give myself a B. A solid B, that is.

And how do you score yourself as a father?

The Criteria:

I have come to believe now that the roles of a father are to Protect, Love and Guide children, in that order, at least, at beginning of their lives. Protect means to provide physical presence, shelter, clothing and food.

Love means to proclaim, feel and consistently exhibit those feelings of attachment without pre-conditions or expectation of any in return.

Guide is to know, say, show and require some expectations of your children in order to help them grow well with confidence, love of their own and good decision making. There are no universally accepted handbooks for minimum expectations for acceptable fatherhood!

The Sample:

All of my children qualify! Their ages, again (for those who have not read me before) are 29, 35, 48, 48 and 50!

Method:

The criteria above are used self-subjectively, i.e., based on what I believe I deserve. The method is also used retroactively, given that the criteria are applied to ages 0 through 18.

Results and Discussion:

Without going into too much detail, the results are as follows:

Age

Protecting

Loving

Guiding

Child 1

50

B

B

B

Child 2

48

B

B+

B

Child 3

48

B-

B+

B-

Child 4

35

A-

A-

A

Child 5

29

A+

A

A-

The overall composite score I give myself is a solid B.

I bet that when they call me today and I ask them what grade they give me as a father, they will each give me an A! And I know that they will all mean it. Remember also that 2 and one of these wonderful children of mine were brought in this union by my better half and me, respectively. Children 1, 2, and 5 are girls, and Children 3 and 4 are boys.

Conclusion:

As you can notice above, as time went on, I learn from my children how to protect, love and guide them. I still feel like the luckiest father on earth. I know and hope you feel the same about your children today, tomorrow and forever!

Again, Happy Fathers’ Day to all fathers on WA, no matter where you live!

And how do you score yourself or score your partner or children’s father as a father?