The Asian dad is doing a lousy job, say his teenage children.

He doesn't listen. He can't remember the names of their best friends. And he doesn't understand their life.

In short, he is clueless.

At most, he deserves just a C--overall a less than satisfactory performance.

This harsh verdict comes from a survey conducted by the monthly magazine Reader's Digest among teens in eight places in Asia.

More than 3,000 teenagers aged 14 to 18 from eight places took part in the survey in January. They were asked to grade their parents in 38 questions relating to parenting, from how good they are at listening, to how much they care.

The Singapore dad got a C-. His counterparts in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and South Korea fared as badly. They also got a C-.

Even the best-performing fathers--from Thailand--got only a C.

The worst fathers are from Hong Kong and Taiwan, with D+.

The results did not surprise experts in fatherhood and sociologists such as Associate Professor Paulin Straughan of the National University of Singapore.

"While the culture of fatherhood has shifted, the practice still lags behind. One reason could be their unwillingness to give up commitment to their career or personal freedom," Prof. Straughan told The Straits Times.

What irks the teens most is that their dads are totally clueless about their life and show no interest in wanting to find out more.

Said Singapore student Jason Yeo, 16: "I like to read Japanese comics and listen to J-pop, but my father thinks they are useless. He once asked me why I'm spending so much time on them and if they were going to be in the exams. He doesn't seem interested in finding out what I like."

Said Thai teen Danny Tongklom, 14: "It may be a small thing to him but to me, it means that he is not interested in my life, that I'm not important to him."

Said Taiwanese student Zhang Yun Fei, 17: "My father works long hours. When he gets home, I'm asleep. I see him only at weekends and, even then, he's usually busy reading the newspapers. Sometimes, I don't know what to say to him. I don't think he knows very much about me."

Hong Kong fathers were viewed as 'cold, distant and strict.'

Hong Kong fathers are particularly bad, according to their teenaged children - they only managed to scrape a D+ average.

A large majority of teenagers said their fathers usually cannot recall their best friends' names, are not proud of them and do not listen to what they have to say.

Wong Suen Kwong, director of the Centre for Fathering, said the survey results are a reminder to fathers that they need to keep up with their children as they grow up.

They can't use the same parenting skills for teens as they do for little ones. And it pays for dads to be there from Day One.

"It is very easy to enter a young child's world. Once a strong relationship is built, it would be easier for the father to stay connected even when the child becomes a teenager," said Wong.

"It's tougher to connect during teen-hood, because it is a period of rebellion and it takes time for a teenager to appreciate any efforts to rescue a neglected relationship," he added.

Across Asia the teens surveyed echoed each other saying they are disappointed that their parents cannot talk to them about sex, frequently lose their tempers when trying to talk things out and do not help them with their homework.

Parents also lack any sort of fashion sense, with both mothers and fathers failing miserably.

Asian dads get a low grade while Mum's the word

However, parents are not total failures in the eyes of their children. Teenagers said that their parents provide unconditional love, teach the differences between right and wrong and provide a safe home.

If there is one consolation for dads, they are funnier than mothers.