Why Homer Simpson isn't that bad of a father

Homer Simpson, the beloved and sometimes hated cartoon dad. Many recognize him for his lack of intelligence, drinking problem, and hating his neighbor Ned Flanders. What few tend to ignore is his quality of being a father. Here is an unpopular opinion being that Homer Simpson isn't a horrible father to his family like some fans tend to think.

Let's start at the beginning, Homer met his wife Marge and got shortly got pregnant with their first child Bart (Although the timeline gets a little messy as the seasons progress so as a fan can't know for sure in which order events took place). Instead of freaking out about the costs of raising Bart, Homer set off to work to provide for his family and continued to work even after Bart was born so Marge could be a stay at home mom. While we do see Bart annoying Homer with his shenanigans and can't forget about the choking him. For the sake of this article we are going to say that the choking while is not a good quality in a parent this is a tv show and it provides comedic relief. While Homer and Bart might not have the best relationship, Homer still looks out for his son and protects him when he gets into some shenanigan.

Shortly after Bart is born Marge is pregnant again with their second child Lisa. Lisa being the smart Brainiac who loves jazz and her saxophone. As mentioned above Homer isn't known for being smart which leads fans to believe she gets her smarts from her mother Marge. Their are many episodes that prove she gets her intelligence from both of her parents but the timeline isn't the best. When Homer finds out that little Lisa is on the way he looks into getting a house for their growing family even though at the time he knew he couldn't really afford it but was willing to make that sacrifice for his family. When Lisa is able to talk she becomes not only attached to her brother's hip because he is her first friend but she becomes a bit of a daddy's girl in the beginning. Homer is the one that get's Lisa her first saxophone because he doesn't want to stifle her intellectual growth and every time she plays her sax around her father you can see him light up a bit knowing that he did right for his daughter. There is also the "To Kill a Mockingbird" reference episode (S.30 ep. 9) where Lisa is reading the book and starts to see her father as her role model when he defends her in a clothing store where they were selling inappropriate clothes to little girls. In this episode we also see Homer defend Bart for acting out where he could have easily let the mob attack Bart if he didn't care for him.

Then we have the youngest daughter Maggie. Now Maggie came to the family as a surprise after Homer thought they were debt free and quit his job to work his dream job at the bowling alley (S.6 ep. 13). After the discovery of another child on the way Homer has a bit of a freak out because he knows that his dream job he won't be able to afford another child. Homer ends up making the decision to go back to the nuclear plant and after some groveling Mr. Burns let's him come back and they put up a sign that reads "Don't Forget Why You're Here" to which Homer ends up putting pictures of Maggie over it to change the message which now reads "Do It For Her". Which speaks volumes about a father willing to work in a job he isn't happy about just to provide for his family.

Now I know I've only touched on the surface of what makes Homer a great dad but he isn't as horrible as some of the other cartoon dads out their. To me Homer Simpson is one of the few cartoon dads out their that truly cares for his children unlike some other cartoon dads out their. He might not be the sharpest tool in the shed but he has a good heart for his family and an even greater dislike for Ned Flanders.