Our kids are pretty smart. They understand that life won’t always be perfect, that sometimes, the road gets rough, that even great parents don’t
get everything right.
我們的孩子都很聰明。他們知道生活并不總是那么完美，
Hi, everybody. This Father’s Day weekend, I’d like to spend a couple minutes talking about what’s sometimes my hardest, but always my most rewarding job – being a dad.
大家好！這個(gè)周末是父親節(jié)，我想花點(diǎn)時(shí)間與大家交流下做父親的感想。我覺(jué)得做好一個(gè)父親的角色有時(shí)候最困難，但也最有意義。
I grew up without my father around. He left when I was two years old, and even though my sister and I were lucky enough to have a wonderful mother and caring grandparents to raise us, I felt his absence. And I wonder what my life would have been like had he been a greater presence.
從小父親就不在我的身邊。兩歲時(shí)父親離開了我們。但是我和妹妹很幸運(yùn)，母親和祖父母對(duì)我們關(guān)懷備至，將我們撫養(yǎng)成人。盡管如此，我仍然覺(jué)得父愛(ài)缺失。我時(shí)常想，如果父親一直在我們的身邊，我的人生可能就會(huì)不一樣了。
That’s why I’ve tried so hard to be a good dad for my own children. I haven’t always succeeded, of course – in the past, my job has kept me away from home more often than I liked, and the burden of raising two young girls would sometimes fall too heavily on Michelle.
因此，當(dāng)有了自己的孩子后，我便加倍努力，讓自己成為一個(gè)好爸爸。當(dāng)然，并非事事順利。過(guò)去，因?yàn)楣ぷ鞯年P(guān)系，我不得不經(jīng)常出差，這實(shí)在是情非得已。所以，撫育兩個(gè)女兒的重?fù)?dān)有時(shí)就落到了米歇爾的肩上。
But between my own experiences growing up, and my ongoing efforts to be the best father I can be, I’ve learned a few things about what our children need most from their parents.
自身成長(zhǎng)的經(jīng)歷以及身為人父的經(jīng)歷，讓我懂得了很多東西。我一直竭盡全力做到最好，我也懂得孩子們最想從父母那里得到什么。
First, they need our time. And more important than the quantity of hours we spend with them is the quality of those hours. Maybe it’s just asking about their day, or talking a walk together, but the smallest moments can have the biggest impact.
首先，孩子們需要我們花時(shí)間陪伴。但陪伴他們的時(shí)間質(zhì)量比時(shí)間數(shù)量更重要。也許只是日常生活中的簡(jiǎn)短問(wèn)候，或是一起散步聊天，但這些最短暫的時(shí)光卻可以對(duì)他們產(chǎn)生最大的影響。
They also need structure, including learning the values of self-discipline and responsibility. Malia and Sasha may live in the White House these days, but Michelle and I still make sure they finish their schoolwork, do their chores, and walk the dog.
同時(shí)，他們也需要一種結(jié)構(gòu)，包括需要了解自律和責(zé)任的價(jià)值。盡管瑪莉亞和薩莎現(xiàn)在生活在白宮，但我和米歇爾還是要確保他們完成家庭作業(yè)，做好日常雜務(wù)，按時(shí)遛狗。
And above all, children need our unconditional love – whether they succeed or make mistakes; when life is easy and when life is tough.
最為重要的是，孩子們需要我們付出無(wú)條件的愛(ài)。無(wú)論他們是取得了成功，或是犯了錯(cuò)誤，無(wú)論生活是舒適還是艱難。
And life is tough for a lot of Americans today.
現(xiàn)在，很多美國(guó)人的生活非常艱難。越來(lái)越多的孩子在成長(zhǎng)過(guò)程中缺乏父親的陪伴。有些父親身穿軍裝，為國(guó)效力，孩子們便不得不在家苦苦等候。即便是那些可以陪伴孩子們的父親，也因?yàn)榻?jīng)濟(jì)衰退受到了嚴(yán)重的創(chuàng)傷。如果你失業(yè)了，或是入不敷出，也要盡全力讓孩子們過(guò)上健康、快樂(lè)，安全的生活，這顯然是最重要的事情。
That’s why my administration has offered men who want to be good fathers a little extra support. We’ve boosted community and faith-based groups focused on fatherhood, partnered with businesses to offer opportunities for fathers to spend time with their kids at the bowling alley or ballpark, and worked with military chaplains to help deployed dads connect with their children.
因此，對(duì)于那些希望盡職做個(gè)好父親的男人，政府正在為他們提供一些額外的支持。我們鼓勵(lì)社會(huì)和宗教團(tuán)體關(guān)注父親的角色，并與企業(yè)合作為父親們提供一些機(jī)會(huì)，讓他們與孩子們一起度過(guò)在保齡球館或棒球場(chǎng)的時(shí)光，或與隨軍神父一起幫助父親們建立與孩子們的聯(lián)系。
We’re doing this because we all have a stake in forging stronger bonds between fathers and their children. And you can find out more about some of what we’re doing at Fatherhood.gov.
我們這么做，是因?yàn)闉楦赣H和孩子建立更為緊密的聯(lián)系，對(duì)所有人都大有裨益。如果您想了解更多我們正在參與的工作，請(qǐng)登錄網(wǎng)站Fatherhood.gov。
But we also know that every father has a personal responsibility to do right by our kids as well. All of us can encourage our children to turn off the video games and pick up a book. All of us can pack a healthy lunch for our son, or go outside and play ball with our daughter. And all of us can teach our children the difference between right and wrong, and show them through our own example the value in treating one another as we wish to be treated.
但我們也知道，每個(gè)父親都有責(zé)任為孩子們樹立榜樣，教育他們做正確的事情。我們都能夠鼓勵(lì)孩子們關(guān)掉游戲、撿起書本。我們都能為兒子準(zhǔn)備健康的午餐，或與女兒一起外出打球。我們都能教育孩子們區(qū)分對(duì)錯(cuò)，并且以自己為榜樣，讓他們看到，我們希望別人怎樣對(duì)待自己，就應(yīng)該怎樣對(duì)待別人，這非常重要。
Our kids are pretty smart. They understand that life won’t always be perfect, that sometimes, the road gets rough, that even great parents don’t get everything right.
我們的孩子都很聰明。他們知道生活并不總是那么完美，他們懂得有時(shí)候道路會(huì)比較坎坷，即便是偉大的父母也不一定每件事都做的對(duì)。
But more than anything, they just want us to be a part of their lives.
但更重要的是，他們希望我們成為他們生活的一部分。
So recently, I took on a second job:
因此，最近我接受了第二份工作，成為薩莎她們籃球隊(duì)的助理教練。每周日，我們都會(huì)一起參加球隊(duì)的訓(xùn)練。有幾次我還幫助教練指導(dǎo)她們的比賽。我這個(gè)老爸有時(shí)會(huì)對(duì)裁判表達(dá)不滿，薩沙因而常常朝我翻白眼，即便如此，我依然覺(jué)得樂(lè)趣無(wú)窮。
But I was so proud watching her run up and down the court, seeing her learn and improve and gain confidence. And I was hopeful that in the years to come, she’d look back on experiences like these as the ones that helped define her as a person – and as a parent herself.
看著她在球場(chǎng)上來(lái)回奔跑，不斷學(xué)習(xí)、取得進(jìn)步并收獲自信，我感到非常驕傲。我希望，未來(lái)有一天當(dāng)她回顧這些經(jīng)歷時(shí)，能夠認(rèn)識(shí)到這些經(jīng)歷曾經(jīng)幫助她長(zhǎng)大成人，幫助她成為一位母親。
In the end, that’s what being a parent is all about – those precious moments with our children that fill us with pride
最后我想說(shuō)，這些都是為人父母的經(jīng)歷。我們與孩子們一起度過(guò)珍貴的時(shí)光，我們對(duì)孩子們的未來(lái)充滿驕傲和欣喜；我們還珍惜每次可以為他們樹立榜樣或提供建議的機(jī)會(huì)；機(jī)會(huì)永遠(yuǎn)都在那里，我們應(yīng)該向他們表達(dá)自己的愛(ài)。
That’s something worth remembering this Father’s Day, and every day.
這些值得我們?cè)诟赣H節(jié)以及每一天牢記。
Thanks, and Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there. Have a great weekend.
謝謝，祝所有父親節(jié)日快樂(lè)！祝大家周末快樂(lè)！
（譯文校對(duì)：Stephanie Shi）
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