History Main / BumblingDad

* Sojiro Izumi, Konata's widowed, perverted, {{Otaku}} father in ''Manga/LuckyStar''. The fact that [[FanNickname he was nicknamed]] ''Awesome-kun'' is not surprising ''at all''. It should be mentioned that the manga implied Soujirou is actually the least BookDumb living member of the Izumi-Kobayakawa household.

* ''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.

* Gang-du from ''Film/TheHost'' 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.

* Sojiro Izumi, Konata's widowed, perverted, gaming father in ''Anime/LuckyStar''. The fact that [[FanNickname he was nicknamed]] ''Awesome-kun'' is not surprising ''at all''. It should be mentioned that the manga implied Soujirou is actually the least BookDumb living member of the Izumi-Kobayakawa household.

* ''LightNovel/SaiunkokuMonogatari'' 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]].

* Felix Unger in the TV adaptation of ''Series/TheOddCouple'' mostly averts this (being an incredibly good cook and housekeeper), but his dorky demeanor usually draws his children's attentions towards [[CoolUncle Oscar]].

* Phil Dunphy of ''Series/ModernFamily,'' mainly as a result of his attempts to seem cool.

* Kogoro Mouri of ''Manga/DetectiveConan'' is a loser, but his care towards his daughter Ran is utterly remarkable, which makes him a PapaWolf all the way. He may burn through a bar's worth of alcohol and tobacco in a day, but if anyone threatens his little girl Ran and his charge Conan ''he will have their face for a doily.''

* Papa [[SpeciesSurname Bear]] of ''Literature/TheBerenstainBears''.

* Jonas from ''WesternAnimation/AsToldByGinger'' is an example of how this trope can affect children [[RealityEnsues 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.

* Jonas from ''WesternAnimation/AsToldByGinger'' is an example of how this trope can affect children [[RealityEnsues 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 ([[BrokenPedistal 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.

*** [[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 also very sensitive about the fact that [[BaldIdiot he's going bald.]]

* Carl Winslow from ''Series/FamilyMatters'' was this on occasion. For instance, in the "Opposites Attract" episode when Harriet asks, "Why must I take part in such a pointless activity?" Carl responds, "Because we are men and we thrive on pointless activity." Additionally Carl is shown as being no better at household repairs than Cliff Huxtable, with one early episode involving an attempted repair being titled "Mr. Badwrench"[[note]]A play on the longtime Mr. Goodwrench (now GM Certified Service) automotive service brand familiar to many as the longtime sponsor of the #3 UsefulNotes/{{NASCAR}} car of UsefulNotes/DaleEarnhardt)[[/note]]

* 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 husaband and father. In addition to being HappilyMarried, he and his wife Morticia usually worked together to solve various family problems.

* The page image, quote source, and TropeCodifier himself, Homer Simpson from ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' is almost certainly the most iconic example of this trope - an [[AlcoholicParent alcoholic]], lazy, disgusting, [[ItsAllAboutMe self-centered]], insensitive, occasionally [[AbusiveParents abusive]] TooDumbToLive JerkAss who constantly neglects his job, for which he is entirely unqualified for, and spends a solid chunk of the series having to haphazardly deal with problems he's caused that puts his family - and occasionally, ''the entire town'' - in danger. That said, [[DependingOnTheWriter although how big of an asshole he is can vary wildly]], one thing that remains relatively consistent is that he [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold does deeply love his family]], even if he doesn't always show it, and is one hell of a PapaWolf when the situation calls for it.

* The page image, quote source, and TropeCodifier himself, Homer Simpson from ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' is almost certainly the most iconic example of this trope - an [[AlcoholicParent alcoholic]], lazy, disgusting, [[ItsAllAboutMe self-centered]], insensitive, occasionally [[AbusiveParents abusive]] and TooDumbToLive JerkAss who constantly neglects his job, for which he is entirely unqualified for, and spends a solid chunk of the series having to haphazardly deal with problems he's caused that puts his family - and occasionally, ''the entire town'' - in danger. That said, [[DependingOnTheWriter although how big of an asshole he is can vary wildly]], one thing that remains relatively consistent is that he [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold does deeply love his family]], even if he doesn't always show it, and is one hell of a PapaWolf when the situation calls for it.

* 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 [[TheRainman 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.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Bunnicula}}'': Mina's single dad, Arthur Monroe. Despite the fact that he's a good father to Mina, he's barely aware of his surroundings. For example, he thinks Mina's thirteenth birthday is her third birthday, and when Bunnicula creates a bunch of Mina clones, the only thing he notices wrong is that the clones served him pancakes instead of waffles for breakfast, rather than the fact that there's only supposed to be one Mina.

'''Roger (thinking):''' ''Only 65% of one.''