When compared with both Goku and Vegeta, Gohan is a far superior father than either of Earth's mightiest heroes. Unlike Goku, who let his son go up against Cell or Vegeta who's physically assaulted his boy on multiple occasions, Gohan has treated his family with a lot more care than anyone else in Dragon Ball.
Heck, Piccolo treated Gohan better than Goku, and he left him in the wild for six months. Even so, there are a few instances where Gohan still has had the same parental guidance issues as his dad. So, we decided to take a look at five cases where Gohan was a good Dad and five where he wasn't.
10 Good Dad: Spending time with his daughter
Every dad in the world knows that having some Father/Daughter time is essential in having a healthy relationship. Gohan has spent a plethora of time with little Pan. He plays with her, watches over her, tries to make sure she doesn't get into trouble, ect. That's not to say that Goku hasn't done this with him and Goten, but we get to see Gohan spending time with his kid that isn't related to training for the next Big Bad to try their hands at taking over the universe or destroying the Earth.
9 Bad Dad: Playing with his daughter with Mr. Satan
There's nothing wrong with a little roughhousing with your kid, but with the degrees that Gohan can go to, we're surprised that child support hasn't been called.
On one occasion, We see Mr. Satan playing with his granddaughter. However, we then see Gohan joining in by transforming into the Great Saiyaman. The two grown men play fight, all the while tossing Pan in the air like she's a football. Thank goodness Grandma Chichi came in and saved her before they dropped her.
8 Good Dad: Using the Dragon to cure her
Every father wants to make sure their child will live a long and healthy life and gets scared when their little one gets sick. Gohan does this when poor little Pan has fallen ill. So, when Goku and the gang are trying to decide what to do with their two wishes from Shenron, Gohan comes to ask if he can use one of them to cure his child. Thankfully, Goku and the gang let Gohan use a wish, and Pan is restored to her adorable, fun-loving baby self. Despite a bad reputation given by fans, Goku can be a good father/grandfather in a few instances.
7 Bad Dad: Not Disciplining Pan
This was a bit of a difficult one to judge. On the one hand, Baby Pan is just too pure and innocent to say anything bad about. Sure, she may wander around, but she doesn't know any better. She is a baby, after all. On the other hand, she likes to wander around, play with swords, beat up Trunks, and fly around without a care in the world. While Gohan tries to discipline his daughter, he doesn't have the heart to do it. None of us like reprimanding our kids, but we still have to know when to give them some tough love.
6 Good Dad: Putting his Training aside to work
While Gohan is one of the strongest fighters in the universe, he pales in comparison to his father, Vegeta, and Piccolo. After Kid Buu is defeated, Gohan gives up on his training and decides to get a job to support his wife, Videl, and child.
While it's sad that Gohan doesn't at least put in an hour of training with Piccolo to keep his strength up, it's understandable given he has a family to raise. The earth has plenty of warriors, so it's nice that Gohan can spend his time with Videl and Pan. At least he doesn't just disappear to train, like his father did.
5 Bad Dad: Letting Pan hang out with Goku and Trunks
While Pan was adorable when she was a child, she started to become a pain when she grew into a teenager. Throughout GT, Pan would always sneak off with Goku and Trunks so that she could help save the world from the Black Star Dragon Balls and the Shadow Dragons. While you can argue that Gohan couldn't have stopped her when she snuck into the spaceship, he didn't stop her when Pan flew off with Goku on his trip to stop the Shadow Dragons. Pretty bad move, Gohan.
4 Good Dad: Having Piccolo babysit
Piccolo has changed a lot since his birth. While he started as a villain who wanted to avenge his father by killing Goku and ruling the world, Piccolo softened up when he was training Gohan. He even went off into the Other World when Nappa killed him.
Since returning to life, Piccolo has aided the Z-Fighters and cared more about Gohan than his father. So, who else would be perfect for babysitting Pan? He plays with her, knows what she likes to eat and play with, and always keeps an eye on her.
3 Bad Dad: Having his parents Babysit
Sure, Goku knows how to play with Pan, but he's not the most reliable person. When Goku and Chichi had to babysit Pan, they lost her for a few hours. Need we say anything else?
2 Good Dad: Defended the Earth
Sure, we all love to make fun of Goku and his obsession with getting stronger for the sake of becoming more powerful, but we know that he does this so that he can defend the earth against those who wish to do it harm. We just wish that he spent a little more time being a dad than running off to train some more. Gohan, while not being as active in battle like his old man, still will aid his fellow teammates in thwarting off the forces of evil.
1 Bad Dad: Let Another Girl Kiss Him
Come on, Gohan, why did you let this happen? During a two-part filler arc, Gohan becomes the Great Saiyaman again and becomes a movie star. When the Pop-Star/Actress Coco finds out who he is and Gohan flies her home, She lands one on him. Gohan, you have reflexes greater than any human, and you let this happen? For shame.