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A Child Almost Lost in Confusion - Son Gohan’s Development (Dragon Ball Z)
With parenting being quite an interesting subject these days (especially with how to properly raise the next generation of kids), let’s look at a child that was raised to be a fighter and forced to survive on his own at the age of 4. He’s also a child who would eventually be responsible for saving Earth from destruction. I’m talking about none other than Son Gohan, the son of the iconic Son Goku from Dragon Ball Z. If you think your early childhood was hectic, imagine if you were in Gohan’s shoes. Gohan’s early childhood development is an interesting case of parenting and one that is applicable in real life.
While Gohan’s parents (Goku and Chi-Chi) are the ones who gave him life, the one person to actively take a huge role in developing Gohan was Piccolo. Piccolo kidnaps a 4-year old Gohan to prepare him for the big battle against the Saiyans. Over time, he grows to love his pupil and considers him as one of his own. This relationship stays strong throughout the series as Gohan treats Piccolo with respect by calling him “Piccolo-san”. Piccolo has been around Gohan a lot, mostly because Goku was either dead or MIA. The only time when Goku and Piccolo are both there for Gohan was during the Androids/Cell Arcs.
A key moment in Gohan’s development during the Cell Arc was when Goku decides to send him out to beat Cell in the Cell Games Tournament. Piccolo questions Goku’s decision as Cell has shown how powerful he is compared to anyone else. Goku retorts by saying that Gohan has hidden strength that can defeat Cell. Piccolo then argues that Gohan isn’t a fighter at heart. While Gohan is getting pummeled by Cell, he goes on to say that Gohan is wondering why his own father isn’t rescuing him as his mentality is still that of a child’s. Goku begins to understand and decides to save his son, though things suddenly turn sour. In the end, Gohan eventually becomes stronger than Cell and defeats him to save Earth.
That moment in the Cell Arc makes you think about how parents interact with their kids. Goku isn’t the greatest father in the world. Is it because of Goku’s childhood since he grew up an orphan? Though the big problem is that Goku was too distracted by fighting that it hindered his development in other areas. You can say Goku has a bad case of uninvolved parenting. In reality, we face so many distractions that get in our way to progress as people. It’s interesting when people try to justify being distracted, yet they don’t realize that they have the willpower to stop them. Don’t get me wrong, certain distractions that are important (i.e. saving the Earth from evil and being the only person capable of doing so) do need to be addressed, but we should at least take some time to get to know and understand the important people in their lives better. Making up for lost time is an option that doesn’t always magically pop up when you need it.
Another point to address is Gohan’s nature when first introduced in the series. When you look at Gohan in the very beginning, he had the makings of a spoiled brat since his mother, Chi-Chi, was always trying to protect him. If it weren’t for Piccolo “kidnapping” him for a year, Gohan might have turned out to be a terrible person. When you think about it, there are children who become instantly pampered the second they are born. Now why does this continue to happen? You can argue that parents really aren’t sure on how to raise kids, are too passive with regards to authority, or that they spoil their kids because it makes them feel good. Chi-Chi seemed to focus her entire life around Gohan, like how some parents act when around their children. Unfortunately, this leads to more harm than good since children will develop an attitude that the world should bow down to them.
The argument on whether Goku or Piccolo was the better parent is somewhat irrelevant, since Gohan turned out to be an outstanding young man who strives to fight against injustice because of both men’s influences. In the end, every child needs to have consistent, unconditional love alongside proper guidance throughout their development. The fusion of those two elements will give your child the strength of a Super Saiyan. It also might unlock an inner determination to go beyond their normal state as they get older and become even more than they are to revolutionize the world for the better.
As the late Whitney Houston once said, the children really are our future.
