Basic Trope: A child thinks an abusive, neglectful or otherwise uncaring parent loves them.
- Straight: Alex frequently beats, starves and insults his son Bob. Despite all this, Bob is convinced his father loves him.
- Exaggerated: Alex has tried to outright murder Bob on several occasions, but Bob still thinks his dad is the world's best parent.
- Downplayed: Bob is unsure whether or not his abusive father loves him.
- Justified:
- Bob disassociates from reality as a coping mechanism.
- Alex is just that manipulative.
- The story is set in a culture where extremely harsh parenting styles are viewed as loving and ideal.
- Alex has Psychic Powers and mind controls Bob into thinking highly of him.
- Inverted:
- Bob thinks his father Alex, who's genuinely kind and caring, is a terrible dad.
- Bob is a problem child who hates Alex, but Alex is convinced Bob loves him.
- Subverted: Bob defends Alex, but that's only because he's been taught to lie to keep his dad's true nature secret.
- Double Subverted: He starts believing his own lies.
- Parodied: ???
- Zig Zagged: ???
- Lampshaded: "He only hits me for my own good!"
- Averted:
- Bob knows his father doesn't care about him.
- Alex isn't abusive or neglectful, and really does love Bob.
- Defied:
- Bob's True Companions help him realise his upbringing is far from a healthy one.
- Alex makes it clear, in no uncertain terms, that he hates Bob. In fact, Alex even threatens to severely punish Bob for daring to even entertain the idea that his father loves him.
- Enforced: "Let's show how damaged Bob is by having him think his dad loves him."
- Invoked: Alex is a Manipulative Bastard who convinces Bob he's acting in his best interest.
- Discussed: Bob and his therapist work through why he thinks this.
- Conversed: "How can Bob think his dad loves him?" "Well, he's never known actual love. I hope that changes and he gets wise to Alex's ways."
- Deconstructed:
- Because Bob views his father's toxic behaviour as ideal parenting, later in life he goes on to treat his own children this way.
- Bob is conditioned to think anyone who mistreats him is actually being kind, so he endures destructive friendships and romantic relationships throughout his life. It never occurs to him that his abusers are doing anything wrong, and he thinks all problems that come up are either his fault or somehow good for him.
- Reconstructed: Bob is removed from his father's care, ends up Happily Adopted, and learns what genuine love is.
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