I can't see telling a child I was disappointed in them overall, maybe some of their actions but not them as a person. But it can be hard growing up to remember that parents are just older people, like ourselves, and just as flawed as we are. Just being a parent does not make us better/worse than we were as ourselves before we married and had children, etc. Being a parent might be motivational for us or more of a stress, etc. but we are who we are. If your father had a crappy upbringing or even just felt like he did, he could end up not being a very good father. We often think it is our parents fault that we turn our a certain way but there's a lot in our own attitude and behaviors and thought patterns, etc. that can warp even the best parental upbringing or make a bad one helpful.