One of the biggest discussions among Dragon Ball Z fans is whether or not Goku is actually a good parent. Taking that a step further, whether or not Chi-Chi was in the right trying to keep Gohan from training when she wanted him to be studying to do well in school.
The reality is... they were both right in their own way. Raising Gohan and Goten, two children with superhuman abilities, wasn't going to be easy. Especially when there were constantly people coming to try and destroy the planet. Together, they were able to cover for one another's shortcomings, allowing for both of their children to be raised properly.
10 Chi-Chi Was Better: Convincing Gohan To Study
One of the best things Chi-Chi ever did was starting Gohan off early with learning. Though he was more of a shy kid at the start of things, he was also smart. This meant he was able to have a path ahead of him in life rather than turning out to be a guy who’s simply really good at fighting like his dad.
Chi-Chi’s time making Gohan focus on his studies might be the focus of a running joke in the series, but it’s also the reason he’s able to provide for his family after he graduates from school.
9 Goku Was The Better Parent: Allowing Goten To Have Fun
Chi-Chi is much lighter on Goten than Gohan in terms of studying, but she actually trains him pretty hard. However, by the time of Dragon Ball Super, Goten has so far surpassed Gohan, it’s barely considered worth it to continue training Goten.
And so, Goku allows Goten to have a bit more fun when they spend time together. They get to goof off instead of Goku sticking to his farmer’s work.
8 Chi-Chi Was Better: Watching Over Goten
Goten is born just shortly after the Cell Games end, and Chi-Chi is forced to be a single parent raising her young boy. She’s much more easygoing with Goten than she is with Gohan, even helping him to train in the hopes he can be more like his dad.
But the most important thing is that she’s there at all, loving and caring for him. She also helped Goten become a Super Saiyan, even if it was a much easier process for him than it was for Gohan.
7 Goku Was Better: Saving Gohan On Namek
This was something Chi-Chi wouldn’t have been able to do. After they agreed to go on a mission to Namek to find the Dragon Balls, Gohan and Krillin traveled there on a mission that shouldn’t have gone well for either of them.
They were way out of their league, and when they faced the Ginyu Force, they realized it quickly. It was only Goku’s timely arrival that stopped them from getting completely destroyed before they even beat Recoome, nevermind Burter and Jeice.
6 Chi-Chi Was Better: Paid All The Bills
It’s worth wondering exactly how Goku and his family even had a place, to begin with. Well, as it turns out, Chi-Chi received a fairly large inheritance from her father, the Ox-King.
While Goku didn’t know much of anything about paying bills, Chi-Chi handled that for the family instead. She made sure they had food and electricity, something that was crucial for Gohan and Goten.
5 Goku Was Better: Training Gohan
Chi-Chi was pretty strongly opposed, but Gohan without training during the Android Saga doesn’t become strong enough to reach Super Saiyan in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
Without that, he can’t reach Super Saiyan 2, which means he’ll have quite a bit of trouble handling Cell. With that in mind, the time he spent training Gohan alongside Piccolo is crucial, even if they weren’t able to beat the Androids in that fight.
4 Chi-Chi Was Better: Telling Goku To Get A Job
Chi-Chi was a “housewife,” but being a housewife is hard work and deserves respect. She not only made sure all the bills were paid — with her money no less — but she was the reason any of them were able to eat at all.
Saiyans are known for their massive appetites, so without her around they would have been in big trouble considering they need giant meals to actually supply them the energy to fight. She convinced Goku to get a job as a farmer, which is good because he needed to do something while Chi-Chi handled literally everything else.
3 Goku Was Better: Taking Gohan Fishing
Chi-Chi was simply terrified at the idea of Gohan growing up like his father. So early on she started teaching him to make sure he’d grow up to be smart and stand on his own.
She wasn’t wrong for this, but all children need some form of balance if they’re going to grow up well-rounded. Goku doing small things like taking Gohan fishing and hanging out with him without requiring heavy study from him was just as necessary as Chi-Chi making him study hard.
2 Chi-Chi Was Better: Convincing Goku To Take Hercule’s Money
It’s ridiculous Goku didn’t think to do this in the first place. The character was responsible for saving the world from both Cell and Majin Buu, and yet he didn’t seem all that eager to take the money that would help their family continue to survive.
Granted they could have just asked Bulma, but why do that when they’ve saved the world multiple times? Chi-Chi was right, they needed to get paid for Goku's work.
1 Goku Was Better: Saving The World
All jokes aside, without Goku saving the world several times over all of Chi-Chi’s desires for Gohan to be a good student would be meaningless. To be clear, Chi-Chi was never wrong for telling Gohan to study... but there’s no point in hitting the books if someone’s going to destroy the planet.
Goku saving the world from Vegeta and Nappa — or later from Cell and even Buu — are the reason Gohan can become a scholar and be a good parent to Pan.