Unfortunately, they're often Truth in Television.
"Boy, I love meeting people's moms. It's like an instruction manual on why they're so nuts."
— Ted, Ted Lasso
Not all relationships between parents and their children are happy or ideal. This page lists Tropes about parent-child relationships that are less than ideal, abusive to some degree, or even outright evil.
See Child Abuse Tropes for tropes where children are harmed in general, not just by their parents.
- Abandonment-Induced Animosity: A child is abandoned by their parents, and resents them as a result.
- Abusive Alien Parents: Aliens have no parenting skills.
- Abusive Offspring: When children mistreat their parents.
- Abusive Parents: When parents treat their children horribly.
- Pimping the Offspring: A parent sells their own child into prostitution.
- Adoption Angst: Beefing with your parents for not being your "real" mom and dad.
- Adoption Conflict: When there's a Custody Battle between the adoptive parent and the biological parent. The child may or may not be roped into the conflict.
- Adoption Diss: Someone gets insulted for being adopted.
- Affair? Blame the Bastard: A child born from infidelity is blamed for their parent's cheating.
- Alcoholic Parent: A parent who is an alcoholic.
- Always a Child to Parent: A parent has trouble treating their children like adults as they mature over the course of the series.
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: A child's parents embarrass them in public.
- Ambiguously Absent Parent: A character has a parental figure missing from their life without any explanation as to why.
- Antics-Enabling Wife: When despite knowing better, the mother will do little to prevent the fallout from the actions of a Bumbling Dad
- Antagonistic Offspring: When a child is antagonistic towards their parents.
- Anti-Smother Love Talk: It's argued that you can't pamper your children forever and that sooner or later they'll have to figure out how to do things by themselves.
- Archnemesis Dad: The villain is the protagonist's father.
- Baby as Payment: A parent uses their child as currency to pay for something.
- Baby Factory: Women are used to making babies for profit.
- Bastard Angst: Being the child of unwed parents causes a character grief.
- Bastard Bastard: A character who is a bastard in both senses of the word (i.e., a child born out of wedlock and a jerk).
- Because I Said So: Parents using vague reasons for why their children shouldn't do certain things.
- Betrayal by Offspring: A child betrays their parents.
- Boyfriend-Blocking Dad: A father who will be confrontational to anyone he suspects is getting too close to his daughter.
- Breaking the Cycle of Bad Parenting: A parent vows to avoid the abusive methods used by their own parents, or at least downplay the part about corporal punishment.
- Calling Parents by Their Name: A child shows disrespect toward their parents by addressing them by their given names instead of "Mom or "Dad".
- Calling the Old Man Out: When children call out their parents for their actions.
- Calling the Young Man Out: When parents call out their children for their actions.
- Child Abuse Is a Special Kind of Evil: A parent abuses their child/children, and it's shown as a purely evil act.
- Child Supplants Parent: A person who challenges their parent in an attempt to supplant them.
- Chocolate Baby: A supposed father is obviously not the biological father, because the baby looks very different.
- Cinderella Plot: A child is treated like a servant by their (step)parents.
- Closet Punishment: Parent punishes their children by locking them in a closet.
- Conveniently an Orphan: A character is an orphan so the plot can move along more easily.
- Daddy Didn't Show: A parent fails to show up for their child's special event.
- Daddy DNA Test: Trying to find out who the dad of a baby is by giving the baby a DNA test.
- Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You: An estranged father gives an excuse for why he abandoned his child.
- Daddy's Little Villain: A villain's equally evil daughter.
- Dad's Off Fighting in the War: A dad who's absent because he's serving in the military.
- Dad the Veteran: A parent who is a retired military person.
- Deceptive Legacy: A child is told lies about their absent parents.
- Delusions of Parental Love: A child insists that their parents love them, despite plenty of evidence to the contrary.
- Denied Food as Punishment: Parents punish their children by denying them food.
- Disappeared Dad: The character's mother is present, but not their father.
- Disneyland Dad: A divorced parent wins their child's affection by taking them to expensive places.
- Disowned Parent: A child disowns their parent(s).
- Doesn't Know Their Own Child: Parents who don't know any personal information about their child that they should know.
- Don't Make Me Take My Belt Off!: Parents use Corporal Punishment on their children as a method of punishment.
- Education Mama: When parents are very pushy with their children's education.
- Elder Abuse: When the now-old parent is abused.
- Embarrassing Relative Teacher: A relative, most often an embarrassing parent, becomes a teacher and humiliates their child during class.
- Evil Matriarch: A villainous mother.
- Family Relationship Switcheroo: A lie about a family relationship is revealed.
- Fantasy-Forbidding Father: A parent doesn't approve of their child's hobbies nor career choice.
- Father, I Don't Want to Fight: The Proud Warrior Race Guy is upset that his son doesn't want to embrace his warrior culture.
- Final First Hug: A parent only expresses their true feeling when they are dying.
- Financial Abuse: A parent abuses their child by using money to control them.
- First Father Wins: A divorced father has to regain the trust of his former partner (and possibly their child) in order to still be in his child's life.
- Follow in My Footsteps: Parents want what's best for their children and so they are forced into their shoes.
- For Your Own Good: A parent's explanation in doing something unpleasant to their children (usually forcing them to do something they don't like).
- Freudian Excuse: Many examples of a character being evil or mean because of past misfortune has the past misfortune involve issues with the bad guy's parents.
- Freudian Excuse Denial: A character who is a harsh or abusive parent denies having a bad upbringing or at least doesn't think it affects them negatively.
- Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Even if they had lousy parents, that doesn't excuse their present evil.
- Gene Hunting: An adopted child searches for their biological parents.
- Generational Trauma: Conflict arises due to unresolved baggage passed down from generation to generation.
- Gentle Touch vs. Firm Hand: Two parents have different methods in guiding their children — one is through kindness while the other is through strictness.
- Gift for an Outgrown Interest: A gift-giver's idea of what the recipient (usually a parent to their child) would like is based on very outdated memories.
- Give Him a Normal Life: An unusual character gives up their child for adoption because they don't want their kid to be roped up with the bizarreness or extraordinarity of their life.
- Glorified Sperm Donor: A character has a father who left after impregnating the mother.
- Grandparental Obliviousness: A grandparent left in charge of their grandchildren is too senile to keep a proper eye on them.
- Grandparent Favoritism: Grandparents who like or give preferential treatment to their children's offspring over their children.
- Gruesome Grandparent: Grandparents are abusive/antagonistic to their grandchild.
- Half-Sibling Angst: Two siblings can't get along because they only share one biological parent.
- Hands-Off Parenting: Parents who don't actively raise their children.
- Hates Their Parent: A character outright despises at least one of their parents.
- Helicopter Parents: Parents who are very involved with their children's lives, often to excessive degrees.
- Hilariously Abusive Childhood: A character is shown to have a ridiculously rough childhood for Black Comedy.
- Honor-Related Abuse: A character is mistreated or killed by their family for the sake of preserving the family's honor.
- I Am Not My Father: A character does not like being compared to their parent.
- I Hate You, Vampire Dad: An angsty vampire hates the person who turned them into one (who may be a parental figure, or even their actual parent).
- I Have No Son!: When a parent disowns their child for some reason.
- I Miss Mom: Character misses their dead/missing parent(s).
- Imaginary Friend: A child treats a figment of their imagination as their best friend to compensate for their loner reputation.
- Inadequate Inheritor: A child's or heir's worthiness of an inheritance is questioned by their elders.
- It Runs in the Family: Family members tend to have similar personalities.
- I Want Grandkids: Parents pressure their children to have children of their own.
- I Want My Mommy!: A character cries for their mother to come help them. Can be played for comedy by having them yell for mommy once they realize they're in trouble, or played for drama by having them cry for mommy while in inevitable peril.
- Jealous Parent: A mom or dad compete with their child for their spouse's affection.
- Jock Dad, Nerd Son: The father is very athletic. The son is nerdy but not athletic.
- Junkie Parent: A parent who is a drug addict.
- Kids Punishing Parents: Kids punish their parents for their misdeeds.
- Kill the Parent, Raise the Child: A character looks after the child of someone they killed.
- Knight Templar Parent: Parents going above and beyond the limit in protecting their children.
- Lecherous Stepparent: A stepparent who sexually abuses their new spouse's children.
- Let Her Grow Up, Dear: The father doesn't want the child (often a girl) to have romance, but the mother doesn't mind.
- Like Parent, Like Spouse: A character's Love Interest is similar to one of their parents, be it in looks or personality.
- Loser Son of Loser Dad: A character is derided as being a loser just because their father was pathetic.
- Love-Obstructing Parents: Parents who interfere with their children's personal romantic relationships.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: Someone reveals to another person that they are that person's father.
- Luke, I Might Be Your Father: Someone reveals to another person that they might or might not be that person's parent/child.
- Luke, You Are My Father: Someone reveals to another person that they are that person's child.
- Mama Didn't Raise No Criminal: The mother of a criminal denies that her child could ever be such a thing.
- Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe: A father is unsure if his child is really his.
- Mandatory Motherhood: Society essentially forces women to become mothers.
- Maternal Death? Blame the Child!: The father (and by extension the rest of the family) blame the child for the mother's death.
- Maternally Challenged: A woman who has no idea how to raise a child.
- Matricide: Someone kills their own mother.
- Meet the In-Laws: A character meets the parents of their new spouse.
- Missing Mom: A character's father is present, but not their mother.
- A Mistake Is Born: A child is conceived when the parents didn't intend to have children.
- Motherly Scientist: A scientist who regards their creations as being their children.
- My Beloved Smother: A bossy, overprotective, clingy mother.
- Mysterious Parent: When the reason for Parental Abandonment is revealed and the parent is an important character.
- New Child Left Behind: A male character gets a female character pregnant before he leaves for a long period of time.
- New Parent Nomenclature Problem: A character debates whether to call their non-biological parent "Mom" or "Dad".
- No Fathers Allowed: Cultures where having fathers present in their kid's lives is discouraged.
- Not Actually His Child: One character is believed the biological parent of another. Turns out they were wrong.
- Notorious Parent: A parent runs away from their offspring because they are a fugitive criminal wanted by law enforcement.
- Obnoxious Entitled Housewife: Mom fights with everybody to get her way, even if it humiliates or terrifies her children.
- Offing the Offspring: Parents killing their children.
- Open-Minded Parent: A parent who is completely fine with their child being unusual or different.
- Orphan's Ordeal: Highlighting the unpleasant side of losing one's parents to death or abandonment.
- Over-Enthusiastic Parents: Parents who love their kids to embarrassing extremes.
- Parental Abandonment: Neither of the character's parents are accounted for.
- Parental Betrayal: Someone betrays their child.
- Parental Blamelessness: Parent will always deny any wrongdoing in raising their child.
- Parental Fashion Veto: A parent forbids their child to wear clothes which are deemed "unsuitable".
- Parental Favoritism: A child the parents like more than the rest of their offspring.
- Parental Incest: Sex or romantic relationship between a parent and a child.
- Parent-Induced Extended Childhood: An unhealthily obsessive parent literally prevents their child from growing up.
- Parental Neglect: Parents who don't care for their kids.
- Parental Obliviousness: Parents who are unaware of what their child is getting involved with.
- Parental Savings Splurge: Your parents spend your dedicated college savings for selfish reasons.
- Parental Substitute: A character who acts as someone's parental figure when their real parents are absent or out of focus.
- Parental Title Characterization: What you call your parents indicates your relationship with them.
- Parent Never Came Back from the Store: A parent leaves to run a casual errand and never comes back.
- Parents Are Wrong: Parents need to let go of tradition so their kids can be free.
- Parents as People: Parents with proper character traits besides their parenthood.
- Parents Suck at Matchmaking: Whoever their parents pick for their kids is guaranteed to be someone they don't like.
- Parent with New Paramour: A character reacts to their parent receiving a new Love Interest.
- Patricide: Someone kills their own father.
- Permissive Parents: Parents that actively encourage things discouraged for those underaged.
- Pervert Dad: A father with an incestuous interest in his daughter.
- Playing Catch with the Old Man: When shown in a negative light, can be used to establish a strained or flawed relationship.
- Promotion to Parent: A character who has to raise their younger sibling because their parents are absent.
- Pushover Parents: Parents who don't control their children's behavior.
- Raised by the Community: A child's parents are so incompetent or in over their heads, their community helps raise them instead.
- Remarried to the Mistress: A character gets remarried to someone they were having an affair with.
- Resentful Guardian: A parent hates their children for putting them in a position as guardian.
- Safety Worst: Parents who take safety precautions to such an extent that they're impractical and/or no fun.
- Secret Other Family: A character has another family that's unbeknownst to their other one.
- Self-Made Orphan: Someone kills their own parents.
- Shed the Family Name: A character changes their family name in order to disassociate themselves from a hated family member.
- Single Parents Are Undesirable: Single parents have difficulties dating.
- Sins of Our Fathers: Children who are punished for what their parents have done.
- Solomon Divorce: Divorced parents divide which children they retain custody of.
- Sports Dad: Parents who push their kids to excel at sports.
- Stage Mom: A parent who pushes their child into show business.
- Strict Parents Make Sneaky Kids: Super strict parenting causes the children to become good at hiding things from their parents.
- Taking the Kids: When parents split up, one of them takes the kids when they leave.
- Taught to Hate: Parents or guardians teach their own hatreds to their kids.
- Teenage Wasteland: Kids now have adult power and responsibility and rule over society.
- That Thing Is Not My Child!: A character refuses to consider a clone or artificially created person made from their DNA to be their child.
- Think of the Children!: A Moral Guardian who selfishly blames media for being a poor parent rather than admit their own mistakes.
- Tough Love: Parents treating their children harshly to make them better.
- The Trap Parents: An orphan gains some parents that don't want them to hang around their friends.
- Trophy Child: A child who is treated as a status symbol by their parents more so than a person.
- Turn Out Like His Father: A character ends up becoming like their parent.
- The Un-Favourite: The child who is ignored and neglected in favor of the other children.
- Unpleasant Parent Reveal: A character meets their missing parent, only to find out that they're not anything like the child had hoped they would be.
- Useless Bystander Parent: A parent does little or nothing to protect their child from abuse.
- Vicariously Ambitious: A parent pushes their child to be what they think is best.
- Villainous Mother-Son Duo: A villainess is assisted by her son.
- Wanted a Gender-Conforming Child: A son or daughter pursues interests commonly associated with the opposite gender, which the parents aren't happy with.
- Wanted a Son Instead: A son or daughter is the opposite gender of what the parent was hoping for.
- Was Too Hard on Him: When a parent feels remorseful for scolding or punishing their child, especially too harshly.
- "Well Done, Dad!" Guy: A parent wants the approval from their child.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: A child wants approval from their parent.
- When You Coming Home, Dad?: Someone's dad is almost too busy for them.
- Where Did We Go Wrong?: When a kid turns out different than the parents hoped, the parents wonder where they went wrong.
- Who's Your Daddy?: A character is unsure who their real father is.
- Why Are You Not My Son?: Parents compare their children unfavorably to their friends, with the implications that they would have preferred the friend to be their child instead of their biological offspring.
- Why Couldn't You Be Different?: When parents are disappointed that their kids failed to live up to their expectations of them.
- Why Did You Make Me Hit You?: A parent uses violence against their child, and then makes their child feel they're responsible about it.
- World of No Grandparents: None of the characters have grandparents.
- Your Son All Along: A character finds out they're actually the parent of a child they know, but were unaware they were related to.
- You're Not My Father: Someone tells another person that they are not their parent, regardless of whether or not it's true.
- You Should Have Died Instead: A parent expresses disappointment that their child survived instead of the person who died.
