History Main / ParentingTheHusband

There is also an uncommon misconception that in pre-70s shows. you were more likely to see the inversion, due to patriarchy being a thing. Truth is, a show having the wife be childish and her husband being her father is pretty much a DeadUnicornTrope, and it was only as common back then as it is now. Part of this misconception might come from the popularity of ''Series/ILoveLucy'', one of the few 50s TV shows people can name off the top of their heads. But in reality, the husband/wife dynamic in I Love Lucy was just much a novelty back then as it is now with ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill''.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS5E131AShortDrinkFromACertainFountain A Short Drink from a Certain Fountain]]", there is a very literal application of this trope. Harmon Gordon takes an experimental youth serum developed by his brother Raymond so that he can be the husband that his unfeeling wife Flora, who is 40 years younger than him, wants. However, he regresses to a toddler within hours. Raymond, who despises Flora for ruining Harmon's life, tells her that she will have to raise Harmon and take care of him if she wants access to his money. He threatens to throw her out on the street with nothing but the clothes on her back if she even hires a nanny or governess to take care of Harmon.

A modern, less "offensive" variation of the HenpeckedHusband, where in a married couple, the husband is quite a [[ManChild child-like]], slobbish {{jerk|ass}}, and the wife is like a parent to him except that she can quite easily provide him sex. Sometimes, the wife may talk about feeling like she really does have one more child than the number of children they have, and guess who the extra is? Ironically, her job of child care may be made easier by the husband being able to connect to their children more effectively.

* ZigZagged on ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' with [[ManChild Andy]]. In the first season he is utterly dependent on his much more mature and responsible girlfriend Ann, culminating when it comes out that the broken leg he'd used as an excuse to have her wait on him hand and foot actually healed some time ago. This could count as a {{Deconstruction}} since this is very much ''not'' depicted as a normal or healthy relationship for either of them. Then {{averted}} and sometimes mildly {{inverted}} when [[RelationshipUpgrade Andy dates (and later marries) April]], who had been an apathetic DeadpanSnarker but becomes much more carefree and fun-loving under his influence. Neither of them is especially mature or responsible, but being significantly older, when someone ''does'' have to emerge as the adult voice of reason, it's usually Andy.

* ''Series/HomeImprovement'' is a major offender. Although Tim Taylor ''could'' be competent when he wasn't trying so hard (especially when it came to taking home improvement projects further).

* ''LightNovel/TrappedInADatingSimTheWorldOfOtomeGamesIsToughForMobs'' has this as Marie’s relationship with her ReverseHarem, as LaserGuidedKarma for her selfishness. She pulled a HijackedDestiny to get rich noble dating sim capture targets to fall in love with her, only for them to [[DisinheritedChild end up disinherited]], having been overly spoiled RichInDollarsPoorInSense beforehand, and [[MsRedInk repeatedly raiding her cash reserves]] to buy her gifts to try and impress her, mistaking her tears over PerpetualPoverty for tears of joy, all while refusing to help make food and such. Eventually, she gives them each enough money to last a week and kicks them out for a month, which only Julius really learns from, while they each become more eccentric from their new jobs.

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-->'''Naomi:''' Light, wait up! You're going to put someone's eye out with that gun.
-->'''Light:''' That's sort of the idea.

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-->'''Mike:''' Oh, good, now she has to raise her horrible husband!
-->'''Crow:''' That's what most wives think they do, anyway.

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* Played with to a lesser degree between Arthur and Guinevere on ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'', in which the maternal and wise Guinevere often calms or cares for her temperamental husband. Sometimes Merlin got in on the act, and there's a scene between him and Guinevere in season five where Gwen pretty much hands responsibility of Arthur over to Merlin for the day.
--> '''Guinevere''': You will look after him?
--> '''Merlin''': He doesn't always make it easy.
--> '''Guinevere''': I know.

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--> ''I'm a habit-former, should I structure my life''
--> ''With all good things and a motherly wife?''
--> ''It's just another excuse so I can never grow up''
--> ''And I can pee in my pants like a two-week-old pup.''

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* Believe it or not, the parents of the Toad family in Westmost house in Toad Town of ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' manages to fit this trope. The wife mentions in one of her conversations that she feels like she has three children.

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* ZigZagged on ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' with [[ManChild Andy]]. In the first season he is utterly dependent on his much more mature and responsible girlfriend Ann, culminating when it comes out that the broken leg he'd used as an excuse to have her wait on him hand and foot actually healed some time ago. This could count as a {{Deconstruction}} since this is very much ''not'' depicted as a normal or healthy relationship for either of them. Then {{averted}} and sometimes mildly {{inverted}} when Andy dates (and later [[TheyDo marries]]) April, who had been an apathetic DeadpanSnarker but becomes much more carefree and fun-loving under his influence. Neither of them is especially mature or responsible, but being significantly older, when someone ''does'' have to emerge as the adult voice of reason, it's usually Andy.

** Though she's not really an adult in many ways either. Given that they seem to be de facto monarchs, perhaps neither of them has to be.
* This is one of the issues at hand in the film ''Film/TheStoryOfUs''.

* ''LightNovel/AscendanceOfABookworm'': One of aspects of the KingIncognito involving ManChild Sylvester is that he turns out to be a married father of three under his real identity. Unsurprisingly, his wife is an "older sister" type and is stated to be one of the few people who can control him.

* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'': Hayley often acts more like Jeff's mother than his wife. She is said to give him baths, needs others to watch him when she isn't around and once made him sit in a corner for 10 minutes (later upped to 20 when he talked back) because he insulted Francine.

* Debra and Ray Barone in ''Series/EverybodyLovesRaymond'' fit this to a tee in the mid-to-later seasons of the show. Ray is actually more of a nebbish. In the earlier seasons of the show, Raymond was portrayed as being rather clever and witty, at one point even winning a national award for his writing skills. In the later seasons, he was seemingly dumbed down to make Debra look better by comparison, all so that the show could more easily shill Debra and use this trope.

* ''Series/KevinCanFuckHimself'': The series is a DeconstructiveParody of sitcoms, and this is one of many sitcom tropes that comes under fire. Rather than being a lovable, well-intentioned {{manchild}} who is loved by his wife in spite of his shortcomings, Kevin is a destructive, petty, self-centered ''asshole'' who always expects Allison to clean up his messes and causes great harm to other people. She has no time for herself and no friends of her own, because his antics consume her entire life, and his selfishness crosses into outright emotional and fincancial abuse. After ten years of this nonsense, Allison truly loathes her husband and wants him ''dead''.

* ''Series/HomeImprovement'' is a major offender. Although Tim Taylor ''could'' be competent when he wasn't trying so hard (especially when it came to taking home improvement projects UpToEleven).

A rather awful DoubleStandard; the notion of a girlish wife in need of control and protection by a fatherly husband [[UnfortunateImplications rarely appears and carries a lot of Unfortunate Implications]] (and similarly, the HenpeckedHusband scenario is considered nowadays to be a big TakeThat against the sole idea of a woman pulling the weight on the family-- see the description above) but this one persists. There is offense given to both sides-- men are told that they're useless and incompetent, at least in the realm of family life, and should really just let their wives take charge; women are told that they [[MenAreChildish can't expect their husbands to act like grownups]] and should just resign themselves to having to carry their husband's weight responsibility-wise and being regarded as the [[WetBlanketWife boring killjoy of the family for it]].

* ''Series/MadMen'': [[spoiler: Because she's infertile,]] Trudy is more a parent than a wife to her impulsive, impatient husband, Pete.
** They Get Better though. They actually end up being one of the most healthy couples on screen... at least until season 6.