History Main / GrandparentalObliviousness

[[folder:Film]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'', we have a classmate of the girls, Mitch Mitchelson and his grandmother, who is perpetually seen sitting in front of a TV set that plays nothing but static. Her grandson, meanwhile, is a juvenile delinquent in the making.

* ''Film/BigFatLiar'' Kaylee on an adventure to Hollywood with Jason even though she's supposed to be staying with her Grandma Pearl for the summer. How does she get away with that? By having big jock Brett visit Pearl in her stead. Even Kaylee is surprised it works.
-->'''Jason''': "That woman doesn't even know what year it is."

* Vada's grandmother suffers badly from dementia in ''Film/MyGirl'', so much so that it's ''Vada's'' job to babysit ''Grandma'' whenever a funeral is happening downstairs (Vada's father is the funeral director). It's a rare example of the obliviousness not being PlayedForLaughs, and in fact is a point of contention for Vada and her dad at one point when Grandma gets out of Vada's sight and starts singing into a rose in front of a roomful of mourners.

* Amanda Bynes' character in ''Film/BigFatLiar'' goes on an adventure with Frankie Muniz's character even though she is supposed to be staying with her grandmother for the summer. How does she get away with that? "That woman doesn't even know what year it is."

-->'''Grandpa:''' ''(calmly)'' Alright; thanks for telling me.

[[/folder]]
----

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Often averted in non-Western cultures or non-traditional family structures where [[RaisedByGrandparents grandparents play a major role in the raising of a child]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* Mayumi Kinniku from ''Anime/UltimateMuscle'' (less so in the original, where he's just Kinnikuman's dad)

[[folder: Film ]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* In an episode of ''Series/ICarly'', Carly can't stop Nevel from messing with her website because while his mom is on a cruise, the only person in charge of him is his grandmother, "and she's hopelessly confused."
** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] with Carly and Spencer's grandfather, who seems to be the sanest member of their family and actually shows up in one episode to take custody of Carly because of a perceived lack of responsibility from Spencer.

[[folder: Music ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

** To be fair, Tommy's [[ParentalObliviousness parents]] aren't much better.

* Abuelito in ''WesternAnimation/MuchaLucha''
* Timmy's Pappy on ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' subverts the trope. He cheerfully goes along when Timmy, Cosmo and Wanda drag him into an "old timey cartoon". Timmy gets through it safely thanks to Pappy and the fairies, but when Pappy describes it later, Mom and Dad decide he's senile and hallucinating.
* Max Tennyson of ''Franchise/Ben10'' also subverts the trope. He knows full well what Ben is up to, and encourages Ben to be responsible about "going hero." Ben still gets away with audacious stuff, though, that would get a normal kid spanked or grounded.
** Or ''[[StrappedToAnOperatingTable dissected]].''

* In ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'', we have a classmate of the girls, Mitch Mitchelson and his grandmother, who is perpetually seen sitting in front of a TV set that plays nothing but static. Her grandson, meanwhile, is a juvenile delinquent in the making.
* In ''WesternAnimation/GrandmaGotRunOverByAReindeer,'' Grandma is pretty savvy (at least until she [[spoiler:gets IdentityAmnesia]]), but Grandpa isn't quite all there.
-->'''Jake:''' ''(runs downstairs wearing a coat [[PajamaCladHero over his pajamas]])'' Grandpa! I'm going to the North Pole to find Grandma!
-->'''Grandpa:''' ''(calmly)'' Alright; thanks for telling me.

[[folder: Real Life ]]

-->-- ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons,'', "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS17E16MillionDollarAbie Million Dollar Abie]]"

-->-- ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons,'', "Recap/TheSimpsonsS17E16MillionDollarAbie Million Dollar Abie"

->'''Homer''': You're a useless old man. Name one thing you do for this family!\\

'''Grandpa''': You left me with the baby?!
-->-- ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''

* Abuelito in ''WesternAnimation/MuchaLucha''.

* Max Tennyson of ''Franchise/{{Ben 10}}'' also subverts the trope. He knows full well what Ben is up to, and encourages Ben to be responsible about "going hero." Ben still gets away with audacious stuff, though, that would get a normal kid spanked or grounded.

'''Grandpa''': You left me with a baby?!

* Often averted in non-Western cultures or non-traditional family structures where grandparents play a major role in the raising of a child.

* In ''Series/Scrubs'', Elliot mentions that, for a couple of years in high school, she lived with an elderly couple who were friends with her parents and didn't have many rules because "I'm pretty sure they thought I was a ghost."

-->'''Didi''': [angry] I can't believe you left them with your father! The man [[SleptThroughTheApocalypse slept through Pearl Harbor]], for heaven's sake!
-->'''Lou''': I sounded the alarm as soon as I could.

--->'''Homer:''' We leave you the kids for three hours and the government takes them away?
--->'''Grandpa:''' Oh, bitch, bitch, bitch.
** But he subverts it on one occasion when he uses subtle emotional blackmail to get Bart and Lisa clear up all the mess they've made.

* Timmy's Pappy on ''WesternAnimation/FairlyOddparents'' subverts the trope. He cheerfully goes along when Timmy, Cosmo and Wanda drag him into an "old timey cartoon". Timmy gets through it safely thanks to Pappy and the fairies, but when Pappy describes it later, Mom and Dad decide he's senile and hallucinating.
* Max Tennyson of ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'' also subverts the trope. He knows full well what Ben is up to, and encourages Ben to be responsible about "going hero." Ben still gets away with audacious stuff, though, that would get a normal kid spanked or grounded.

* Lou Pickles on ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}''. Nine times out of ten, when put in charge of watching the titular babies, he'll end up [[SeniorSleepCycle falling asleep]] shortly after their parents leave. This was lampshaded in [[Film/TheRugratsMovie the movie]] after the babies got lost.

* Lou Pickles on ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' . Nine times out of ten, when put in charge of watching the titular babies, he'll end up [[SeniorSleepCycle falling asleep]] shortly after their parents leave. This was lampshaded in [[Film/TheRugratsMovie the movie]] after the babies got lost.

[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* Amanda Bynes' character in ''Film/BigFatLiar'' goes on an adventure with Frankie Muniz's character even though she is supposed to be staying with her grandmother for the summer. How does she get away with that? "That woman doesn't even know what year it is."

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* Lina's grandmother has dementia, leaving Lina with little supervision when she goes off to save ''[[Literature/TheBooksOfEmber The City of Ember]]''.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* In an episode of ''Series/ICarly'', Carly can't stop Nevel from messing with her website because while his mom is on a cruise, the only person in charge of him is his grandmother, "and she's hopelessly confused."

[[AC:Music]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

[[AC:RealLife]]
* Often averted in non-Western cultures or non-traditional family structures where grandparents play a major role in the raising of a child.

* Mayumi Kinniku from ''UltimateMuscle'' (less so in the original, where he's just Kinnikuman's dad)

* Often averted in non-Western cultures or non-traditional family structures where grandparents play a major role in the raising of a child.
----
<<|CharactersAsDevice|>>
<<|FamilyTropes|>>
<<|ParentalIssues|>>

* On ''EverybodyLovesRaymond'', there's one Halloween night where Frank Barone, charged with dealing with trick-or-treaters, obligingly doles out Ray and Debra's novelty coloured contraceptives, thinking they're some sort of brightly coloured chew sweets.