oh shit an unpopular opinion

template: ahmed-art.deviantart.com/art/S…

Yes yes, I am aware of Toriyama's statements on Goku. Biggest goal is to get stronger, he's not parent material, yadda yadda. And that's about as far as I agree with what he says, honestly, because it doesn't seem to fit with what he wrote in his manga.
The dude says that all Goku wants is to get stronger and he only does good things like save the Earth by coincidence, but...ehhhh, that's kinda contradicting his own work?
Lookie: www.mangapanda.com/dragon-ball… www.mangapanda.com/dragon-ball…
Well, gee, Goku actually giving a shit about other people in the manga Toriyama wrote. It's just a couple of examples, but there are plenty more I could link to.

So anyway, I say that considering Goku's background, both his Saiyan heritage and the way he grew up ignorant of society, that he's actually a decent parent. Hell, compared to other Saiyans, which according to Toriyama do not care about friends or family, Goku is the damn parent of the year.

Look, the guy loves his sons. I could give you examples from the manga on this. Hell, here's one: www.mangapanda.com/dragon-ball…
He just lacks a sense of responsibility...which sucks, but there ya go.

Honestly, the majority of the arguments the fandom uses against this guy's parenthood are piss poor.
"But he was gone for most of their lives!"
Yeah, he was fucking dead in all but two instances. Staying away after Namek there are possible excuses (such as controlling the animalistic Super Saiyan state), though none that are shown in canon, but him leaving at the end with Uub? Okay, that one is pretty low, ya got me. HOWEVER, in another of Toriyama's works we see Goku and Uub living at the Son residence, so I don't think Toriyama meant to make it seem like Goku just ditched them for good.
"But he rescued Hercule and Dende instead of his sons!"
Ugh, seriously? If I were in Goku's shoes I'd save them, too. What, just gonna fly right by them and be all "sorry, fuck you, gonna save my kids". Goku values all life equally, he'd have considered it wrong to just ignore them. He even gets upset that he didn't have enough time left to save the rest, so it really feels like you just want to hate the guy yaknow?
"But the Cell games--!"
Mkay, yes, that was a fuckup on Goku's part. But he's a freaking Saiyan. And there are a lot of viewpoints on Goku's actions in the Cell games...it ain't black and white, man. Here's my take: I see it as Goku having been confident in Gohan's abilities. He had trained with the kid for an entire year, kay, most of which we did not see on-screenn. Plus, he can sense the kid's ki. He would have known if Gohan was significantly damaged or hurt--so I don't see him smiling as he watched Cell beat his kid up as him being fucked up. His attitude was essentially "Cell's playing with fire, Gohan's going to beat him so hard ". And when Piccolo told him Gohan doesn't enjoy fighting? He changed his tune, asked for a senzu as if he was about to change his mind. But then Cell took the senzu.
In the end, Goku was right. Gohan was the only one with the power to defeat Cell. It was their only chance of survival.
"But him deciding to stay dead--!"
He actually says he did not plan on dying, here's proof: www.mangapanda.com/dragon-ball… And secondly, his reasoning was to protect the Earth--which suggests he was doing it to keep family and friends safe, which he did because he loves them. Yeah, he was also excited to stay there and fight old warriors, typical Goku.
"But Gohan loves Piccolo more!"
Bullshit. www.mangapanda.com/dragon-ball… "But he was a kid there" Okay, here, see how excited teen Gohan is to see his dad after seven years: www.mangapanda.com/dragon-ball…
Now I'm not belitting Piccolo. Gohan absolutely sees Piccolo as a father figure, even if probably just subconsciously. I'm just saying that doesn't mean he sees Piccolo as a replacement or better than Goku. There's no reason in canon to believe that Gohan resents or doesn't love Goku. Or in filler for that matter. Rather we have every reason to believe that Gohan looks up to him. Gohan can love both Piccolo and Goku, okay?

Lastly, out of 28 years in-series of the "Z" portion of the manga (including the 10 year time gap at the end), Goku spends 18 years with his family. Five years raising toddler Gohan, three years training with him and Piccolo, one year absolutely alone with Gohan in the hyberbolic time chamber, came back seven years later and lived at home again for 10 years until he (temporarily) left to train Uub. And by then the kids were grown. Yeah, in recent material (ie, Super) he's away training a lot, but really--at this point training to push his limits seems like a genuine need, no matter his motivations. But it doesn't mean he's never home...if he hadn't gone home at all, he'd never have known about Bulma's birthday party. 

Considering the most time he spent around his friends, including his proclaimed best friend Krillin, amounted to like one year, and how often he gave in to ChiChi's demands, I'd say he changed and compromised for his family even if he could have done better. He's a free spirit, if he wanted to he could completely blow them off. But he doesn't.
Are his actions all 100% okay with me? Hell no! But I still love this character. He's well intentioned overall, but rather selfcentered in his thinking and imperfect. But I love him because he has faults. Despite having been the archtype for your typical shonen hero, he's really not your typical shonen hero.