History Main / BumblingDad

Naturally, filled with UnfortunateImplications. This trope essentially agrees that dads shouldn't be expected to do anything but watch sports and drink beer, but rather than being due to traditional gender roles, it implies it's because they're simply too stupid and incompetent to accomplish anything. While indirectly paying women a compliment by depicting them as the more capable gender, women are therefore expected to do everything else. Asking a man to do something, like look after the kids, is only asking for disaster, and the long-suffering woman can only sigh and clean up his mess. Traditional gender roles are therefore still enforced. The reasoning is simply re-framed in a way that infantilizes men.

Naturally, filled with UnfortunateImplications. This trope essentially agrees that dads shouldn't be expected to do anything but watch sports and drink beer, but rather than being due to traditional gender roles, it implies it's because they're simply too stupid and incompetent to accomplish anything. While indirectly paying women a compliment by depicting them as the more capable gender, women are therefore expected to do everything else. Asking a man to do something, like look after the kids, is only asking for disaster, and the long-suffering woman can only sigh and clean up his mess. Traditional gender roles are therefore still enforced. The reasoning is simply re-framed in a way that infantilizes men and reinforces traditional expectations regarding women.

Naturally, filled with UnfortunateImplications. This trope essentially agrees that dads shouldn't be expected to do anything but watch sports and drink beer. Rather than being due to traditional gender roles, it implies it's because they're simply too stupid and incompetent to accomplish anything. While indirectly paying women a compliment by claiming they're the more capable gender, women are therefore expected to do everything else. Asking a man to do something like look after the kids is only asking for disaster, and the long-suffering woman can only sigh and clean up his mess. Traditional gender roles are therefore still enforced. The reasoning is simply re-framed in a way that infantilizes men and reinforces traditional expectations regarding women.

Naturally, filled with UnfortunateImplications. This trope essentially agrees that dads shouldn't be expected to do anything but watch sports and drink bee. Rather than being due to traditional gender roles, it implies it's because they're simply too stupid and incompetent to accomplish anything. While indirectly paying women a compliment by claiming they're the more capable gender, women are therefore expected to do everything else. Asking a man to do something like look after the kids is only asking for disaster, and the long-suffering woman can only sigh and clean up his mess. Traditional gender roles are therefore still enforced. The reasoning is simply re-framed in a way that infantilizes men and reinforces traditional expectations regarding women.

Naturally, filled with UnfortunateImplications. This trope essentially agrees that dads shouldn't be expected to do anything but watch sports and drink beer, except rather than being due to traditional gender roles, it implies it's because they're simply too stupid and incompetent to accomplish anything. While indirectly paying women a compliment by claiming they're the more capable gender, women are therefore expected to do everything else. Asking a man to do something like look after the kids is only asking for disaster, and the long-suffering woman can only sigh and clean up his mess. Traditional gender roles are therefore still enforced. The reasoning is simply re-framed in a way that infantilizes men and reinforces traditional expectations regarding women.

Naturally, filled with UnfortunateImplications. This trope essentially agrees that dads shouldn't be expected to do anything but watch sports and drink beer, except rather than being due to traditional gender roles, it implies it's because they're simply too stupid and incompetent to accomplish anything else. While indirectly paying women a compliment by claiming they're the more capable gender, women are therefore expected to do everything else. Asking a man to do something like look after the kids is only asking for disaster, and the long-suffering woman can only sigh and clean up his mess. Traditional gender roles are therefore still enforced. The reasoning is simply re-framed in a way that infantilizes men and reinforces traditional expectations regarding women.

Naturally, filled with UnfortunateImplications.

This trope essentially agrees that dads shouldn't be expected to do anything but watch sports and drink beer, except rather than being due to traditional gender roles, it implies it's because they're simply too stupid and incompetent to accomplish anything else. While indirectly paying women a compliment by claiming they're the more capable gender, women are therefore expected to do everything else. Asking a man to do something like look after the kids is only asking for disaster, and the long-suffering woman can only sigh and clean up his mess. Traditional gender roles are therefore still enforced. The reasoning is simply re-framed in a way that infantilizes men and reinforces traditional expectations regarding women.

This trope essentially agrees that dads shouldn't be expected to do anything but watch sports and drink beer, except rather than being due to traditional gender roles, it implies it's because they're simply too stupid and incompetent to do anything else. While indirectly paying women a compliment by claiming they're the more capable gender, women are therefore expected to do everything else. Asking a man to do something like look after the kids is only asking for disaster, and the long-suffering woman can only sigh and clean up his mess. Traditional gender roles are therefore still enforced. The reasoning is simply re-framed in a way that infantilizes men and reinforces traditional expectations regarding women.

This trope essentially agrees that dads shouldn't be expected to do anything but watch sports and drink beer, except rather than being due to traditional gender roles, it implies it's because they're simply too incompetent to do anything else. It's not because they're lazy or the tasks are somehow "beneath" them; men are simply too stupid to be expected to accomplish anything. While indirectly paying women a compliment by claiming they're the more capable gender, women are therefore expected to do everything else. Asking a man to do something like look after the kids is only asking for disaster, and the long-suffering woman can only sigh and clean up his mess. Traditional gender roles are therefore still enforced. The reasoning is simply re-framed in a way that infantilizes men and reinforces traditional expectations regarding women.

This trope essentially agrees that dads shouldn't be expected to do anything but watch sports and drink beer, except rather than being due to traditional gender roles, it implies it's because they're simply too incompetent to do anything else. It's not because he's lazy or the tasks are somehow "beneath" him; men are simply too stupid to be expected to accomplish anything. While indirectly paying women a compliment by claiming they're the more capable gender, women are therefore expected to do everything else. Asking a man to do something like look after the kids is only asking for disaster, and the long-suffering woman can only sigh and clean up his mess. Traditional gender roles are therefore still enforced. The reasoning is simply re-framed in a way that infantilizes men and reinforces traditional expectations regarding women.

This trope essentially agrees that dads shouldn't be expected to do anything but watch sports and drink beer, except rather than being due to traditional gender roles, it implies it's because they're simply too incompetent to do anything else. It's not because he's lazy or neglectful; men are simply too stupid to be expected to accomplish anything. While indirectly paying women a compliment by claiming they're the more capable gender, women are therefore expected to do everything else. Asking a man to do something like look after the kids is only asking for disaster, and the long-suffering woman can only sigh and clean up his mess. Traditional gender roles are therefore still enforced. The reasoning is simply re-framed in a way that infantilizes men and reinforces traditional expectations regarding women.

Naturally, filled with UnfortunateImplications, and often used as an enabler of several {{double standard}}s. Sometimes, on the rare occasions that a mom does something dumb, she's cut more slack than she otherwise would be, since the bumbling dad is there to [[ExpectationLowerer make her look better by comparison]]. The frustrating and stagnant gender roles enforced by this trope are often pointed to as an example of sexism against men. On the other hand, this trope doesn't let female characters off so good either. For example, if everyone's used to tolerating Dad's incompetence, they might still hold Mom to the standards of a competent adult. In fact, she may end up being held responsible for ParentingTheHusband and fixing his screw-ups. After all, somebody's got to be the grownup in a family, and you can't hold Dad accountable for not acting like one if he's just an idiot.

Although he's clever at times, he's not usually allowed to be smart. He has no idea that ShortcutsMakeLongDelays. He's lazy, gluttonous and has miscellaneous other glaring vices. His children may love him, but they often don't respect him. However, he is still a sympathetic character; the source of his charm is his complete love and loyalty to his family, even if the main way he shows it is by fixing problems he caused himself.

This is an example of how a SubvertedTrope can end up becoming the norm. Back in the day, fathers were assumed to be wise and in charge, and the bumbling dad was something fresh and unusual--which was arguably [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny what made it so funny in the first place.]] Today, sitcoms have made bumbling dad an UndeadHorseTrope, and consistently competent fathers are a comparative rarity.

* Popular in many, ''many'' television commercials -- especially for products associated with domestic tasks like cooking, cleaning and childcare, as this plays into the complementary trope and stereotype that MenCantKeepHouse.
** One such commercial that stoked up a significant amount of ire in the United Kingdom which invoked this trope was an ad for the oven cleaner Oven Pride, which somehow managed to create a triple standard(!) by implying that not only are dads too stupid to figure out how to use a bottle of chemicals, but that mums [[StayInTheKitchen should stay in the kitchen because they’re the only ones smart enough to use the product.]]

* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' Isshin Kurosaki, Ichigo's widower father. [[spoiler:However, we learn later on that Isshin is in fact an exiled captain-level shinigami, and that his goofiness is a put-on. He's still goofy after TheReveal, just more of a badass. Also, most of his goofiness with relation to Ichigo was actually him being a StealthMentor, teaching Ichigo how to fight without Ichigo even realizing it]]. He is still, however, a complete incompetent boob when it comes to Yuzu and Karin.
* Naruto and Sasuke are this in ''Manga/{{Boruto}}''. There's a good balance of it being PlayedForLaughs, and PlayedForDrama. Not helping is Naruto not having parents to begin with, and Sasuke's parents being somewhat incompetent.

*** The next episode opens with Choji getting kicked out of his house by his wife for being lazy and eating the sweets she bought for the family to enjoy, and almost losing an eating contest with Chocho in an attempt to when his wife's affection back.

* Ouka, father of Recca Hanabishi, in the ''Manga/FlameOfRecca'' manga is like this, [[spoiler:despite being a stoic bad ass leader of Recca's 8 headed dragons, Resshin]]. In the anime, however, he's just like a normal, [[TheStoic stoic]] dad.

* ''LightNovel/{{Inukami}}'': Dai Youko, Youko's father, is the goofy dad type; described as an [[OneOfTheKids "adult child"]], he throws tantrums when he finds out Youko's in love with her tamer. However he's far from incompetent. Instead he's the only one capable of fighting the BigBad in single combat.

** Jotaro becomes a more serious example in Part 6. Due to his rather bad parenting, as in, not being around a lot, divorcing his wife at some point, and not talking to her as much, his daughter Jolyne begins the story with less than pleasant feelings towards him. Once he appears to bail her out of jail, Jolyne beats a guard up in order to extend her stay just to get away from him.

* ''LightNovel/TheStoryOfSaiunkoku'' has Kou Shoka, who fills the role not only for his daughter Shuurei, but also to a lesser degree for both Seiran and the young Emperor, Shi Ryuuki. He mostly comes off as kind and good-natured but hopelessly inept, [[spoiler:at least until it's revealed that he's also the highly skilled assassin known as the Black Wolf and that his bumbling is mostly an act]].

* Played with in ''Film/AmericanBeauty''. Kevin Spacey's character is initially a depressing version of this, but as the movie continues he manages to shirk the mantle.

* Gang-du from ''Film/TheHost2006'' is clumsy, immature and absent-minded, which explains why his wife left him. He feeds his daughter Hyun-seo ''beer'' and can't even gather enough money to buy her a cellphone. In fact, he's so clumsy that he inadvertently allows his daughter to be captured by a giant monster from the river Han. Still, as incompetent as he is, he loves his daughter more than anything else in the world and fights with all his might to save her. And as it turns out, the authorities are even more inefficient than he is.
* Played with in ''Film/{{Juno}}'', where the protagonists' father and stepmom look clueless in the beginning but appear wiser and emotionally supportive as the movie advances.

* Subverted in ''Film/{{Suffragette}}''; Maud's husband Sonny seems to be this at first, when he fails to dress his son in the morning and the child still wears a pyjama when he's sent to the carer. However, it soon turns out that he is not loyal to his family, but [[spoiler: ruthless enough to give the son up for adoption without Maud's consent, which the law of that time allowed.]]

* In ''Literature/DeepSecret'' and ''Literature/TheMerlinConspiracy'', Ted Mallory is a generally competent individual and a best-selling author, but he absolutely does not understand his teenaged son Nick.

* Gomez Addams of ''Series/TheAddamsFamily'', had eccentric habits and interests and could lean towards CloudCuckoolander tendencies at times, but was still depicted as a selfless, loving and attentive husband and father. In addition to being HappilyMarried, he and his wife Morticia usually worked together to solve various family problems.

* Cliff Huxtable from ''Series/TheCosbyShow'' was created specifically as an antidote for this. Creator/BillCosby was tired of all the father figures on TV being essentially dominated by their kids, and created a competent, intelligent, but still ''funny'' father character for himself. It's still present in a downplayed form, as his family ''refuse'' to let him try to fix household appliances.
* Earl Sinclair on ''Series/{{Dinosaurs}}''. The episode "Dirty Dancing" has Earl watching a show called "Totally Ineffectual Dad", which is all about the father being a bumbling dad. At one point and advertisement for the show mentions that it is followed by other shows with the "bumbling dad" concept, such as "Dad's a Moron" and "Father Knows Nothing".

* Tim Taylor in ''Series/HomeImprovement''. Unlike most bumbling dads, however, he is actually very competent at his job. At least, he would be if it weren't for his almost mental-illness-level [[MadScientist compulsion to "improve" things.]] When he isn't creating outdoor grills that can achieve geosynchronous orbit, he's actually a very skilled handy man. He's far more "[[NoOSHACompliance No concern for safety or moderation]]" than "Doesn't know what he's doing". As far as his family goes, Tim is a little closer to the standard for this trope, usually not always understanding how he should act in various circumstances, as having effectively raised himself after his dad died, he's not clear how a family works. This conversely means that in any episode where someone dies, Tim ends up being much more competent and capable.

* Genta Igarashi from ''Series/KamenRiderRevice'' is an embarrassing, hammy goof who spends his time filming himself doing different challenges, tricks and records instead of taking care of the family's bathhouse business, much to his children's chagrin. [[spoiler:However, given the later reveal that he's an experimental HumanDemonHybrid and was once an executioner for the organisation that remodeled him and was responsible for his parents' death, him losing his memories and [[AmnesiacsAreInnocent becoming his present self]] almost feels like a well-earned happy ending.]]

* Most people who remember ''Series/MakeRoomForDaddy'' probably remember the many times Danny Williams was this, his excuse being that his work as a nightclub singer kept him from spending a lot of time with his family. Much of this took place later in the series, after Danny had married Kathy. In its earliest inception, the show was noted for more serious portrayals of Danny and Margaret's conflict, to the point that Margaret talked about leaving (pretty edgy for 1953). When the actress playing Margaret quit, though, they just said that Margaret had died.

** There's also a great episode were Hal becomes increasingly reckless and carefree when Lois isn't around to temper his more compulsive attributes.
** Hal is the INSTIGATOR for most of the madness in the Middle household, and the part of the equation the kids get their mischief from. Lois might be more strict and punishing, but Hal is the one with all the crazy schemes..
* Al Bundy of ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'' is a more caustic version of this. In the case of Al Bundy it's more along the lines of a reasonably competent man who's been surrounded by insane circumstances for so long it's hard for him to care anymore and he doesn't apply himself. He hates his life, his wife, his kids, his job, his neighbors, his boss and everything else he has to deal with, and when he proves he knows what he's doing nobody cares. Why even bother?
* ''Series/ModernFamily,'' has Phil Dunphy as am overgrown manchild who loves to do extremely silly things, especially with his youngest son (the two older daughters are far too cool). He really tries to project the "cool dad" image, often leaving discipline to his wife. But while he does love bumbling around, he also provides well for his family (for the first few seasons he is the sole breadwinner for a family of five) and tries to be a devoted father and husband.

* Michael from ''Series/MyWifeAndKids'', on the other hand, was an subverion of the bumbling dad trope GoneHorriblyWrong, or [[TruthInTelevision perhaps true to life]]. Instead of being a bumbling dad whose controlled by his wife and children... his relationship with them throughout the series can be summed up with this quote, "I [[JerkAss Bugs Bunny'd]] you."

* ''Series/StepByStep'': Frank Lambert was a clear example, usually by trying too hard be the father. This often annoyed or outright angered eldest stepdaughter Dana many times, who viewed him as uncouth and uneducated ... but many times, Dana could rely on Frank to stick up for her in her time of need.

%%* The very first bumbling dad on television may have been Stu Erwin, in a show that's known as ''The Stu Erwin Show'' or ''Trouble with Father'' or ''Life with the Erwins'' depending who you ask.
* Inverted in ''Series/UpAllNight'', as [[http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2012/06/what_to_expect_and_up_all_night_the_doltish_dad_on_screen_is_changing_.html noted here]]. Chris began sort of this way, but as a stay-at-home-dad got things under control. His wife, Reagan, who continued working as a TV producer, is instead the one who tends to bollix things up when she takes charge.
* Deconstructed in ''Series/TheUnicorn''. Wade's introduced as a fairly typical single TV dad, with a messy house and two daughters who are given free reign. However, this is because he's been spinning his wheels since his wife passed away. Once he begins processing his grief properly, the house gets cleaned up and he gets his kids back in line.

* Played with on ''Series/SchittsCreek'' with Johnny Rose. Because he was once a suave, globetrotting billionaire and is now broke, he has many moments where he bumbles through seemingly ordinary situations. Yet, he is also shown to be hard-working, intelligent and at times clever, but that doesn't stop his adult children from endlessly razzing him over things like his not knowing anything about social media or his adoption of buzzwords like ''rollout''. He also is a very bad gift-giver, having tried to give his CampGay son a basketball hoop and giving {{Tomboy}} Stevie a case of makeup.

* Music/FrancoDeVita: The theme of "No Basta" (It's Not Enough), and despicted very realistically. In it, Franco calls out a father who trivializes the problems his child consults to him, [[TheTalk including the concept of sex]] or being bullied in school. Said father does try to make his child happy by buying toys and the like, but never gives himself time to actually ''be'' with the child and share time together.

** In another, even more ridiculous strip, Roger flooded the house when he tried to use the ''dishwasher'', and that was while Andy was out of town.

** [[HorribleCampingTrip Every single one of Roger's camping trips has been horrible from the get-go]], whether at Skeeter Falls or at Cactus Flats or a cabin in the woods. And in classic BumblingDad form, he doesn't ever notice that he's the only one to enjoy them: one year, he quits his job (more on that later) and once he gets it back, announces that they won't be able to go camping that year, is puzzled by the kid's (and wife's) obvious joy.

-->'''Roger:''' Look, the moment the warranty expires I'll get on of those flip-top jobbies. You know, the kind Captain Kirk uses.\\

** Roger once quit his job to spend more time with his family. When he told the kids, their reaction was a unanimous "Are you insane?!?". Thankfully he managed to get it back.

*** [[https://foxtrot.com/2020/11/08/whoopies/ In a 2020 strip,]] it's shown that he spends large amounts of money on a pay-to-win chess app... and ''still'' loses.
** Roger is generally a complete idiot when it comes to matters of money and technology. He bought lots of stock in "[=GrowCo=]", because a friend said it was a "good buy". The company crashes and burns the very next day (and their only response to questions about this is "So sue us").
-->'''Roger:''' Of course I didn't invest all our money in [=GrowCo=], I'm not a complete fool.\\

::Roger doesn't even know what [=GrowCo=] ''does'', despite still being completely convinced that it will rise again.
-->'''Roger:''' Hey, the stock today raised up a point! Time for some champagne!
-->'''Andy:''' ''(facepalming)'' With only a net loss of-
-->'''Roger:''' ''(interrupting)'' Who cares about nets? Tennis players! And fishermen! I don't care about nets!
** Roger is also very sensitive about the fact that he's going bald.

* Jeremy from ''ComicStrip/{{Zits}}'' sees his father Walt as this. In reality Walt is perfectly competent at anything he learned during, say, the first half of his life - he just doesn't seem to have bothered to learn anything new since he was in his twenties, making him completely clueless about new technology, modern trends, and anything else that Jeremy considers important.

* Played to tragicomic effect in Canadian playwright EdRiche's one man show ''Theatre/PossibleMaps''. While the protagonist's father, a university professor, wasn't ''stupid'' by any means, he was [[AbsentMindedProfessor somewhat scatterbrained at best]] and manic depressive with what looks like a touch of autism at worst. Most of the play revolves around the protagonist reminiscing about what a chore it was for the family to put up with him and his own anxieties about the possibility of inheriting the man's mental frailties.

* ''Asura'' from ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'' was like this before being betrayed. Unlike most of the other examples however, this isn't out of actual idiocy: Since his Mantra is that of [[UnstoppableRage Wrath]], he's so angry about almost everything that the only parenting he knows is of the two step variety: 1) Find reason daughter is crying. 2) Apply punch to the face of said reason.

* ''VideoGame/Persona4'': Ryotaro Dojima downplays this. While he isn't a totally incompetent parent, he still feels he's not doing a good raising his daughter Nanako on his own after his wife's death. The protagonist can help Dojima reconnect with Nanako in both their [[RelationshipValues Social Links]]. Sadly, he does play this trope straight later on, but in a very tragic light. [[spoiler:Once he suspects the protagonist of being involved with the murders, Dojima takes him to the police station to question him, while leaving Nanako alone at the house, which makes it very easy for Taro Namatome to kidnap her, throw her into the TV World, and much later [[note]]Provided the protagonist makes the right choices[[/note]], permanent death.]]

* Pop of ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends''. It's usually fatal for Cub when he's DistractedByTheShiny. He means well, but he doesn't exactly live in a world which pities mistakes or oversights. (Or seemingly safe and sensible decisions for that matter.)

* [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in ''Webcomic/PennyAndAggie'' with Aggie's father Nick, a widower who is intelligent, compassionate and wise, and with whom Aggie has a close relationship. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in the first chapter, when Penny fails to trick him into allowing her access to Aggie's diary and thinks, "Why can't he be clueless like every other dad?"

** Banana Bob, who is Banana Joe's father. Banana Barbara could also count as a [[GenderInvertedTrope Bumbling Mom]], since she's as stupid as her husband and son.

* Monty Uno in ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' is the most prominent parent of the main characters, and his various quirks are a constant source of embarassment to his son Nigel/Numbuh 1. [[spoiler:In the BigDamnMovie, it's revealed that he is in fact Numbuh 0, a legendary hero to the KND, and his bungling nature are a result of [[LaserGuidedAmnesia decommisioning]].]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'', both parents, though their primary flaw was being clueless to ''Dexter's Laboratory'' (and he has a memory erasing gun, so its more like they look stupid by comparison to their supergenius son.) Also, Dexter's father turns out to be a stunt biker when his job is finally revealed (up to then, he left every day dressed for an office job), making him much cooler and more competent than the typical example.

* Cosmo and Mr. Turner of ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents''. The show is fair enough to show that Mrs. Turner isn't that much brighter... That may explain Timmy. It should also be noted how Wanda used to be not much brighter than Cosmo, who had gone through severe {{Flanderization}}, and in fact in the pilot episode they describe themselves as "two halves of a whole idiot".

* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'''s Peter Griffin is often this at best, while being a PsychopathicManchild at his worst.

* Deconstructed in ''WesternAnimation/InsideJob2021'' by Rand Ridley. On the surface, he's a perfect example of this trope: a lazy, hedonistic stoner who mooches off of and constantly embarrasses his daughter Reagan with his ZanyScheme{{s}}, but seems to genuinely love her. However, his erratic behavior is the result of decades of hard drinking and drug use that have unchecked, and it becomes gradually clear that he's an abusive father who genuinely abused Reagan throughout her childhood and serves as a constant toxic influence on her. It culminates in the first season finale, which reveals [[spoiler:he erased her OnlyFriend from her memory so he could force her to [[GradeSkipper skip grades]] so he could fast-track her to success]], making it clear he only ever saw her as a meal ticket at best.

** WesternAnimation/{{Pete}} can also be a fairly bumbling dad on ''Goof Troop'' depending on the episode, and has more of the stereotypical traits such as laziness and gluttony, but generally speaking he's actually ''[[AbusiveParents worse]]'', with most of his "bumbling" coming in non-parenting forms such as [[DidNotThinkThisThrough not thinking through his schemes]].

* ''WesternAnimation/PeppaPig'''s Daddy Pig is a rare pre-school kid's show example.

* ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo'': Carrot is this due to be very silly and often clueless compared to his wife. However, he provides helpful information to the kids and is a great baker, making this thankfully downplayed. It helps that Celery is also goofy at times.

** Stu Pickles is a downplayed example. He's good-natured, loves to invent, and has a child-like personality. He builds toys for income, but said toys can be hit or miss depending on how well they work. He may not be the brightest dad, but is still helpful to his wife and two sons in many ways, and he loves them all very much.

* Randy Marsh in ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' has [[{{Flanderization}} drifted in this direction]] over the years; in the beginning he rarely appeared (and the first episode he played a major part in needed him because he was a scientist); now, he usually gets caught up in every stupid fad, and is frequently portrayed as the single dumbest individual in any of the kids' families, while [[WomenAreWiser his wife]] is one of the sanest ([[AdultsAreUseless ...of the adults, at least]]).

* Jonas from ''WesternAnimation/AsToldByGinger'' is an example of how this trope can affect children [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome in real life]]. Jonas left the family years prior to the series and only recently began trying to reconnect with them dispite seeming borderline incapable of keeping his word. One kid sees him though rose-colored glasses and wants him and their mother to ge back together so they can be a happy family ([[BrokenPedestal and is later sobered up to the reality]]), the other is bitter and resentful at being abandoned, and both children seem to have issues with trust linked to their father's lack of reliability. To top it off, Jonas is very awair of how much of a flake he is and eventually gives his ex-wife away to a second husband who is far more reliable than he was.

* Tucker from ''{{Machinima/Anon}}'', especially in Season 6. His sexual health advice to teenage son Connor is especially awkward. Don't be silly, wrap your willy.

%%* ''Are We There Yet?'' movies has gangsta rapper Ice Cube in this role, of all people.

* Subverted in ''Film/{{Maleficent}}'', where three female pixies are bumbling moms and the only male involved in raising the child is shown to be quite good at it.

* The title character of ''Theatre/KingLear'' is a tragic example. The old man is well on his way to senility, asks his daughters before the court how much they love him, and is enraged when his youngest daughter Cordelia replies, "As much as a daughter should"--which, as she explains in a subsequent monologue, means she loves him so much despite his flaws that she's willing to remain unmarried so she can continue to care for him. Instead she's banished from court and marries the Duke of Albany and things go downhill.

* Dwayne in ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaPresentsTheRidonculousRace'' is this since he's an {{Expy}} of [[Film/NationalLampoonsVacation Clark Griswold]], who may be the king of this trope.

* Subverted in ''Film/CheaperByTheDozen''. Tom is unable to control the kids at times, but he's clearly frustrated, not stupid. Although many claimed Tom was stupid, this clearly is not the case.

* Deconstructed in ''WesternAnimation/InsideJob'' by Rand Ridley. On the surface, he's a perfect example of this trope: a lazy, hedonistic stoner who mooches off of and constantly embarrasses his daughter Reagan with his ZanyScheme{{s}}, but seems to genuinely love her. However, his erratic behavior is the result of decades of hard drinking and drug use that have unchecked, and it becomes gradually clear that he's an abusive father who genuinely abused Reagan throughout her childhood and serves as a constant toxic influence on her. It culminates in the first season finale, which reveals [[spoiler:he erased her OnlyFriend from her memory so he could force her to [[GradeSkipper skip grades]] so he could fast-track her to success]], making it clear he only ever saw her as a meal ticket at best.

[[folder:Film -- Animated]]

[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]

* Professor Utonium of ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' is a talented and intelligent scientist. As a dad to three superhero little girls, he's a well-intentioned if addled buffoon.

* Professor Bomba from ''WesternAnimation/{{Epic}}'' is already unused to interacting with humans, let alone his own daughter.
* Buck Cluck from ''WesternAnimation/{{Chicken Little}}'' struggles with being a father due to being a widower and not knowing how to be there for his son.

* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'''s Peter Griffin is often this at best, while being a Psychopathic ManChild at his worst.

* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'''s Peter Griffin is often this at best, while being a Psycopathic ([[ManChild]]) at his worst.