Basic Trope: A character, usually a parent, antagonizes their loved ones in order to make them better.
- Straight: Shannon is very harsh with her daughter Sharon, but only in a way to make her better in life.
- Exaggerated: Shannon beats Sharon as a little girl to the point of almost killing her, but this is only to make her a legit badass when she grew up.
- Downplayed: Shannon isn't physically abusive, but she puts down Sharon day by day in a way to make her a better person.
- Justified:
- Shannon's parents used the same parenting before and she thought that this will work on Sharon.
- In the dilemma of Gentle Touch vs. Firm Hand, Shannon realizes that using the "Gentle Touch" on Sharon is not enough for her to learn and keep her on the straight and narrow, so using the "Firm Hand" on Sharon is effective.
- Shannon realizes that acting hard on Sharon is necessary for her growth in everyday life.
- Shannon and Sharon live in a Crapsack World, and Had to Be Sharp attitude is pretty much vital for their survival.
- Inverted:
- Shannon treats Sharon with kindness and respect, but this is only to make her weak.
- Sharon wants to make Shannon a better mother by abusing her.
- Shannon speaks peacefully to her daughter Sharon during torturing.
- Subverted: Shannon acts cruel to Sharon, but she took it too far, so she decides to treat her gently instead.
- Double Subverted: ...But realizes that doesn't do her any good, so she returns disciplining her.
- Parodied: Shannon does things to Sharon that not even Baki the Grappler (or his batshit crazy father Yujiro) would even consider doing in his training routine (and he trains 30 hours a day) just to improve her algebra grades.
- Zig Zagged: Shannon uses tough love on Sharon only whenever she receives a low grade, rebelling against her authority, or when she only wants an excuse to balance out her kindness and meanness.
- Averted: Shannon raises her daughter very well without any cruelty or abuse involved.
- Enforced: "We need a reason why Sharon is able to go through a bunch of hard stuff without cracking, but also why she's so distant with people and cynical. Let's give her a mother who raises her with Tough Love!"
- Lampshaded:
- "Sharon, I'm doing this because I love you! Now Quit Your Whining!"
- Marcus: "Who is Shannon kidding? I call it hate."
- "Wow, Sharon. She really loves you doesn't she?"
- Invoked: Shannon, a usually kind parent, wants to try to act hard on Sharon to test out if this sort of parenting works.
- Exploited: Shannon is disciplining Sharon not to make her a better person, but only to make her feel inferior to herself.
- Defied: "I don't want to treat my daughter like that. She'll start rebelling against me."
- Discussed: Shannon and Jason have a heated discussion on whether or not treating Sharon in a certain way has its benefits.
- Conversed: "Does anything think that a parent treating the child like crap is an efficient way to shoehorn morality, especially in television shows?"
- Deconstructed:
- Shannon's strict parenting did make Sharon a better person, but it made her emotionally wrecked and hateful towards Shannon, the rest of her family, her friends, and everyone else in the world. Nice Job Breaking It, Shannon.
- Shannon becomes progressively guilt-ridden and stressed out whenever she disciplines Sharon.
- Shannon's discipline is too much for Sharon, who eventually begins to hate her mother. By the time she's old enough to leave, she does so, and what's left of their relationship consists only of Sharon doing everything she can to tear her mother down.
- Disciplining Sharon didn't make her better, but it made her even more rebellious to the point that Shannon gives up on her and kicks her out of the house, feeling that she failed in raising her. She's right.
- Shannon's strict parenting ended up with other people (rightly or wrongly) accusing Shannon of being an Abusive Parent and/or reporting her to the police.
- Sharon becomes so fed up with her mother's put-downs that she attacks and murders her just to end it.
- Sharon ends up believing that abusive and controlling behavior is the only real way to express love because that's what she grew up with. This belief leads her to get involved in abusive relationships where she gets abused by her partner - or, worse, where she is the abusive party.
- Reconstructed:
- Sharon comes to terms that Shannon's parenting made her learn how the world works and while she still resents her mother for the treatment and remains withdrawn from her, she is grateful for her preparing her for a harsh world.
- Despite firmly believing in her own good intentions, Shannon realizes she went too far in some areas and for the sake of healing Sharon as a person and making sure she doesn't estrange her, Shannon acknowledges that to her in an apology. She attempts to rekindle her relationship with Sharon and help her heal from the potential emotional and/or psychological damage her parenting caused.
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