Atticus: A Good Parent

One criterion that makes an excellent parent is that they give their children advice that is useful including but not limited to their current difficulties. The parent can give the help that the child needs but doesn’t solve the problem, allowing the child to deal with his or her own situation with the help and advice of their parents. The child can use that advice and use it for different situations and tolerate it. Another criterion that makes a satisfactory parent is that they treat their children equally and doesn’t favor one child over another because of their differences. The children will also learn to treat other people equally like how their parent did. Also, they would not get hurt or feel inferior by the parent’s actions that biased.

For example, it cannot be denied that Atticus was irresponsible and careless when he lets Scout go to the pageant by herself at night. The sun had gone down and it was very dark. Atticus didn’t even make Jem or Aunt Alexandra go to Scout and just told Scout she could ask Jem to go with her if she wanted. Also, Atticus was inattentive and negligent for not going to the pageant to see Scout because he is tired. He is not doing his role as a father just because he is tired, which makes him careless and negligent towards his children. Nevertheless, when Scout talks about her family she says: “Jem and I found our father satisfactory: he played us, read to us, and treated with us with courteous detachment.” (6) Atticus did as much as he can as a parent. He gave his children entertainment and good memories with each other by “playing” with them, gave education by “reading” with them. Also, Atticus “treated” his children “with courteous detachment”, showing that he respects his children and is not careless about his children. If he was a careless and irresponsible parent, he would not have cared for his children and treated them with “courteous detachment”. Also, the children would not have said their father was satisfactory if Atticus was careless and negligent to them. Because Atticus takes care of his children and the children are satisfied with him,