How to be a good father

“Oh, my God! This newborn is my son! I am a father!” These words came into my mind as soon as a nurse came out of the delivery room carrying a baby, my son. Though I had prepared for this moment for a long time before my son was born, I still felt nervous and uneasy. I had to consider again. “How can I be a good father?” Since my son was born, I have thought about this again and again. From my perspective, to be a good father means to play three different roles at three different stages in a child’s growth: a gardener, a guide and an audience. The first role is a gardener, during the baby and toddler stage. Like a gardener looks after flowers, a father should take care of his children. Enough food is a necessary condition for children to grow well, not only physical food but also spiritual food. Meanwhile, a good father should be good at finding out problems about their children and help them overcome barriers. Helping children grow well and bloom well in preparation for the future is a father’s responsibility. When children begin school, a father has to change to another role, a guide. This is one of the hardest periods because he is confronted with diverse difficulties. For example, when children are in adolescence, they cannot control their emotion well, so they often become depressed or angry without any warning. A good father should be alter to the situation any time and guide them to a right direction smoothly. But it is difficult to identify this situation because everyone knows tourists can share their mood with their guide easily, but children have a hard time sharing reasons for their mood with parents. To be a guide is a way to solve this problem. Ultimately, a father only needs to be a good audience after his children become adults and are standing on their own two feet. They want to give a perfect performance to their audience, and their special audience is their father. They need the special audience to cheer for their success or encourage them