History Main / JealousParent

'''Examples:'''

[[AC: Anime and Manga]]
* Ren Sohma, in ''Manga/FruitsBasket'', is a Selfish type who can't stand the attention that her husband, Akira, gives to their child. In fact, she's so jealous that she does her best to ruin said child's life. Looking closely, there may be a small element of Justified as well - it had to be unnerving for the woman when the Zodiac children started pawing at her stomach.

[[AC: Fanworks]]

[[AC: Literature]]
* In ''Literature/DragonridersOfPern'', Petiron (Selfish) becomes a SpoiledBrat when his son, Robinton, is born in ''Masterharper of Pern''. He and his wife, Merelan, were SickeninglySweethearts, but after Robinton was born he became jealous and resentful, taking it out on his sweet-natured son who only ever [[WellDoneSonGuy wanted his father's approval]]. Merelan's desperate attempts to keep Petiron happy exhausted her -- possibly leading to her death (according to her best friend).
* Any father in a Creator/JodiPicoult novel involving an Ill Girl or Boy is a Concerned / Justified type.

[[AC: Live Action Film]]

[[AC: Live Action Television]]
* In an episode of ''Series/EastEnders'', Tiffaney screamed at her husband, Grant, that she wasn't "a baby machine" after he became obsessed with having a second child. A justified type, even though said child didn't exist.

[[AC:Video Game]]

[[AC: Visual Novel]]

[[AC: Web Comics]]
* Alluded to in ''Webcomic/SabrinaOnline'', where Thomas notes that he never thought he'd feel jealous of his own son, after said son (Timmy) disturbs some "special time" between him and wife, Amy. The fact that Timmy is nursing at the time doesn't help. Strictly Played For Laughs - Thomas is an attentive and loving dad.
* Anthony Carver in ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'' adored his wife and resented their daughter. Justification varies: on one hand he had some heartbreaking knowledge to deal with -- that Antimony was literally killing her mother just by existing, which would suggest the Concerned type... but his classmates all state that he was fundamentally selfish to begin with (Selfish type)

[[AC: Western Animation]]
* Cleveland acts as mix of all of the above in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow'', when Donna's constant affection for Rallo gets in the way of their sex life. While he does act somewhat self centered and childish about it, he is at least somewhat justified since his step son is deliberately trying pry the two away from each other out of his own jealousy. Eventually, the two negotiate.

* In ''Manga/HappyYarouWedding, widower Akira proposes to his son's nanny, sparking a RelationshipUpgrade. One side effect of this is that Yuuhi starts lavishing even more affection on his son Shouta, and Akira starts getting comically jealous of the attention, feeling like the relationship between him and Yuuhi should have gotten better, not worse.

** [[spoiler: Asuka]] from ''Fanfic/TheSecondTry'' is the Temporary type. [[spoiler: She ''really'' didn't want a kid, partially out of fear that it would ruin her relationship with [[LivingEmotionalCrutch Shinji]]. It was to the point that she ''tried to induce a miscarriage via starvation''. Fortunately, seeing the first ultrasound awakened her maternal instinct and she was firmly in {{Good Parent|s}} territory by the time that Aki was born.]]

* Amelia in ''Film/TheBabadook'' is Selfish, as she ultimately admits that she loves her dead husband more than her living son.

* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2'' Hal Emmerich/Otacon reveals that his father [[DrivenToSuicide drowned himself in the family pool]] (and tried to take [[MurderSuicide his stepdaughter Emma with him]]) after discovering that his wife and Hal's stepmother had been having sex with his son, and tellingly treated it as an insult to his masculinity rather than the ugly statutory rape it was since Hal was underage.

* '''Culture Shock:''' Slightly less sympathetic than the Concerned and Justified type, but still understandable. This parent just hasn't got into the swing of parenthood yet. They still miss their status as lover/spouse rather than mum/dad, and the constant "not tonight, dear"s are getting them down. Usually they adjust, particularly after their partner has stopped freaking out and insisting on going to the emergency room every time the kid coughs, and they both become GoodParents after AnAesop or two. Tends to happen if the couple had children when the were quite young, or the baby was born before they felt they had "quality time" with their partner.

See also ObnoxiousInLaws, LetHerGrowUpDear, and OverprotectiveDad.

* In an episode of ''{{Eastenders}}'', Tiffaney screamed at her husband, Grant, that she wasn't "a baby machine" after he became obsessed with having a second child. A justified type, even though said child didn't exist.

* From ''Kill la Kill AU'', we have Ragyou's mother, Youko, who is the Selfish type and she is clearly not the mothering sort, being the sort to mostly sit in front of the TV and smoke cigarettes, explicitly stating that she should have thrown her away and is quick to call her ungrateful. Her words to a then six-year old Ragyou, on her birthday no less:

* '''Concerned:''' Yes, this parent is a little resentful at being left out in the cold, but overall their motivation is altruistic. The attention their partner gives the child is truly over-the-top, and they run a real risk of turning into asmothering parent or an overly-restrictive one. The "resentful" parent is actually more concerned that the child will be adversely affected, or that their partner is burning themself out -- the fact that their spouse hasn't spoken to them since the kid was born is a lesser concern.

* '''Culture Shock:''' Slightly less sympathetic than the Concerned and Justified type, but understandable. This parent just hasn't got into the swing of parenthood yet. They still miss their status as lover/spouse rather than mum/dad, and the constant "not tonight, dear"s are getting them down. Usually they adjust, particularly after their partner has stopped freaking out and insisting on going to the emergency room every time the kid coughs, and they both become GoodParents after AnAesop or two. Tends to happen if the couple had children when the were quite young, or the baby was born before they felt they had "quality time" with their partner.
* '''Temporary:''' This parent acts like a brat during the neediest stages of their child's development, but mellows out when the child is less dependent on its parents. Living with them is still pretty hard on their partner and child, but not as unbearable as the...

* From ''ElfenLied'', Mayu's mother reacts to the news that her stepfather had been routinely ''raping her'' with jealousy that she had seduced her man that way. Also overlaps with KarmaHoudini as she and the stepfather are never seen getting their comeuppance, and beyond Mayu confessing everything to her new family, rarely mentioned.

* Any father in a JodiPicoult novel involving an Ill Girl or Boy is a Concerned / Justified type.

* In ''DragonridersOfPern'', Petiron (Selfish) becomes a SpoiledBrat when his son, Robinton, is born in ''Masterharper of Pern''. He and his wife, Merelan, were SickeninglySweethearts, but after Robinton was born he became jealous and resentful, taking it out on his sweet-natured son who only ever [[WellDoneSonGuy wanted his father's approval]]. Merelan's desperate attempts to keep Petiron happy exhausted her -- possibly leading to her death (according to her best friend).

* In ''WeNeedToTalkAboutKevin'', Eva is a Concerned / Justified type in her own eyes, and a Selfish type in the eyes of her husband. Due to UnreliableNarrator, it's hard for the reader to pin down which one is truth...but given that Franklin dismissed Eva's concerns, doted on Kevin and demanded that Eva give up her job and move to the suburbs for Kevin's good, there's probably an element of Justified at least.
* In Creator/CSLewis's ''TheGreatDivorce'', one damned soul accuses her husband of being a jealous parent, complaining that he (and their daughter) begrudged her her grief for her dead son; her brother, a Bright One, contradicts her: they rightly revolted against her obsession, despite their love for the son/brother, because it was about her, not her son.

* In CSLewis's ''TheGreatDivorce'', one damned soul accuses her husband of being a jealous parent, complaining that he (and their daughter) begrudged her her grief for her dead son; her brother, a Bright One, contradicts her: they rightly revolted against her obsession, despite their love for the son/brother, because it was about her, not her son.

This is the mum or dad who competes with their child for their spouse's affections. Quite simply, they see the kid as the third side of a LoveTriangle.

Normally, Dad is the resentful party, although resentful mums aren't unheard of. In the case of mum, she'll often have felt resentful throughout the pregnancy, and angry that her partner keeps talking to the "bump" instead of her. She may accuse her husband of treating her as a walking incubator, not the woman he fell in love with. Usually, the "social demotion" aspect of motherhood (for example, a woman feeling that she loses her identity as a person because other people see her only as a mother) will be a major theme in the plot, and her jealous parent characterisation will be tangential to that theme. In the case of dad..? He normally gets the ManChild treatment at best. His wife is almost certain to complain that she now has "one extra baby" rather than a partner. A male jealous parent is less likely to receive CharacterDevelopment than a female: his jealousy will be either a permanent flaw or, on the other end of the scale, PlayedForLaughs.

* Deconstructed in ''Manga/NeonGenesisEvangelion''. The manga explains that Gendo Ikari ignored Shinji after his wife's death because he envied how much she cared for Shinji and how much attention she placed on him.

* In ''Literature/DragonridersOfPern'', Petiron (Selfish) becomes a SpoiledBrat when his son, Robinton, is born in ''Masterharper of Pern''. He and his wife, Merelan, were SickeninglySweethearts, but after Robinton was born he became jealous and resentful, taking it out on his sweet-natured son who only ever [[WellDoneSonGuy wanted his father's approval]]. Merelan's desperate attempts to keep Petiron happy exhausted her -- possibly leading to her death (according to her best friend).

* In ''Literature/WeNeedToTalkAboutKevin'', Eva is a Concerned / Justified type in her own eyes, and a Selfish type in the eyes of her husband. Due to UnreliableNarrator, it's hard for the reader to pin down which one is truth...but given that Franklin dismissed Eva's concerns, doted on Kevin and demanded that Eva give up her job and move to the suburbs for Kevin's good, there's probably an element of Justified at least.

---

* In an episode of ''{{Eastenders}}'', Tiffoney screamed at her husband, Grant, that she wasn't "a baby machine" after he became obsessed with having a second child. A justified type, even though said child didn't exist.