今年早些时候，长沙、南宁等地出现了“租爹热”，不少家政公司推出“钟点爸爸”租赁服务，可以根据孩子的喜好陪孩子玩耍、锻炼身体等。话说，这爸爸也能租吗？

“Hourly dad (or hired dad)” is a newly created term where a man is hired to take a child to and from school, play games and work out with the child. He is paid by the hour and doesn’t need to help the child with his/her homework.

“钟点爸爸”是一个新兴职业，主要负责接送孩子、陪孩子玩游戏、搞锻炼，不负责辅导学习，家长按小时付给报酬。

Hourly dads are needed because many parents are too busy to take care of their children or children from single-parent families (of a single mother in particular) may need someone to spend time with them like a father.

“钟点爸爸”的出现主要是由于很多家长忙于工作，没有时间接送和陪伴孩子；部分单亲家庭的孩子缺少父爱、父教，需要提供亲情服务。

Experts said that this idea was created with good intentions, and there is demand in the market. But parents are irreplaceable in a child’s life, you cannot randomly hire someone to act as his/her father.

专家认为“钟点爸爸”的出发点是好的，市场也有一定的需求，但任何人都无法代替父母，靠“钟点爸爸”来弥补孩子的情感缺失之作法不可取。

相关阅读

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自由放养儿童 free-range kid

（中国日报网英语点津 Helen）

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