That makes a lot of sense to me, Steve. Parents who are present are a lot more likely to have a positive effect on their children than parents who are completely absent.

Now try this brain puzzle: What about parents who are truly awful parents? Maybe they have a personality disorder or are emotionally abusive. Are their children better off by their absence? That way they will not learn by example some unhelpful ways of handling conflict, and will be less likely to repeat them in their own parenting. Or, would the children grow and learn from exposure to awful parents; would they eventually learn better ways of coping as a reaction to their own upbringing?

I’m not advocating one or another. I do think there are better ways to spend our time than trying to figure out who’s doing parenting the right way, and who isn’t. Because in the end, there are just so many factors to consider. And the way a child acts throughout their life doesn’t always function as a fair barometer.