History Main / ParentingTheHusband

* ''King of the Hill'': MAJOR inversion.

--> ''King of the Hill'': MAJOR inversion.

----

* In Diana Wynne Jones' ''House of Many Ways'', sequel to ''[[HowlsMovingCastle Howl's Moving Castle]]'', Howl actually turns himself into a DeliberatelyCuteChild, and poor Sophie has to deal with both him and their son. While trying to do her job.

----
<<|CharacterizationTropes|>>

* In DragonBall, [[{{Tsundere}} Chi-Chi]] treats her husband [[IdiotHero Son Goku]] very much like this. However, it could be subverted, as the fact that Goku is a phenomenally powerful alien Martial Artist makes this relationship look more equitable than most other examples - Chi-Chi [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean "takes care"]] [[{{Housewife}} of Goku at home]], Goku [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean "takes care of her in return"]].....[[ChronicHeroSyndrome by saving the world on a regular basis.]]

--> "If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it's yours. If it doesn't come back, it was never yours to begin with. But if it just sits on your couch, eats your food, watches your TV, and uses your phone, and doesn't seem to realize or care that you set it free, you either married it or gave birth to it." -'''A parodic twist on a well-known proverb'''

--> "If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it's yours. If it doesn't come back, it was never yours to begin with. But if it just sits on your couch, eats your food, watches your TV, and uses your phone, and doesn't seem to realize or care that you set it free, you either married it or gave birth to it." -A parodic twist on [[SaidBookism a well-known proverb]]

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

* Every. Sitcom. Ever.
** Averted with ''ILoveLucy'', where Lucy is far more naive and child-like than her successful husband. When she was particularly troublesome, Ricky would even put her over his knee and spank her.
** Keep in mind, though, that "Lucy" debuted almost sixty years ago. Modern "family" sitcoms without this trope are rare.

* Debra and Ray Barone in ''EverybodyLovesRaymond''. Ray is actually more of a nebbish. In the earlier seasons of the show, Raymond was portrayed as being rather clever and witty. In the later seasons, he was seemingly [[{{Character Derailment}} dumbed down and Debra was made meaner]].

* In DragonBall, [[EducationMama Chi]]-[[{{Tsundere}} Chi]] treats her husband [[IdiotHero Son Goku]] very much like this. However, it could be subverted, as the fact that Goku is a phenomenally powerful alien Martial Artist makes this relationship look more equitable than most other examples - Chi-Chi [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean "takes care"]] [[{{Housewife}} of Goku at home]], Goku [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean "takes care of her in return"]].....[[ChronicHeroSyndrome by saving the world on a regular basis.]]

* [[DragonBallZ Chi Chi]] treats Goku very much like this. Of course, Goku is somewhat like a kid.
** The fact that Goku is a phenomenally powerful alien Martial Artist makes this relationship look more equitable than most other examples - Chi Chi [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean "takes care"]] [[{{Housewife}} of Goku at home]], Goku [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean "takes care of her in return"]].....[[ChronicHeroSyndrome by saving the world on a regular basis.]]

** The fact that Goku is a phenomenally powerful alien Martial Artist makes this relationship look more equitable than most other examples - Chi Chi [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean takes care]] of Goku at home, Goku takes care of her in return..... by saving the world on a regular basis.

** The fact that Goku is a phenomenally powerful alien superhero makes this relationship look more equitable than most other examples - Chi Chi takes care of Goku at home, Goku takes care of her in return by saving the world on a regular basis.

** The fact that Goku is a phenomenally powerful alien superhero makes this relationship look more equitable than most other examples - ChiChi takes care of Goku at home, Goku takes care of her in return by saving the world on a regular basis.

* Debra and Ray Barone in ''EverybodyLovesRaymond''. Ray is actually more of a nebbish.
** The really annoying part about it, besides the {{Unfortunate Implications}}, is the fact that in the earlier seasons of the show, Raymond was portrayed as being rather clever and witty. In the later seasons, he was seemingly [[{{Character Derailment}} dumbed down to make Debra look better]].

A rather awful DoubleStandard; the notion of a girlish wife in need of control and protection by a fatherly husband [[DeadHorseTrope rarely appears today]] but this one persists. There are UnfortunateImplications on both sides - men are told that they're useless and incompetent and should really just let their wives take charge; women are told that they can't expect their husbands to act like grownups and should just resign themselves to always having to be the sole responsible adult in the family.

Sometimes, this is part of a CloserToEarth setup, with a BumblingDad. He may also be a HenpeckedHusband, or he may just have a penchant for causing WackyHijinx that his wife must resolve. Sometimes, the husband is perfectly angelic or a hard worker, or a mixture of the two, and the wife is simply motherly with no shallow motives.

Sometimes, this is part of a CloserToEarth setup, with a BumblingDad. He may also be a HenpeckedHusband, or he may just have a penchant for causing WackyHijinks that his wife must resolve. Sometimes, the husband is perfectly angelic or a hard worker, or a mixture of the two, and the wife is simply motherly with no shallow motives.

Sometimes, this is part of a CloserToEarth setup, with a BumblingDad. Sometimes, the husband is perfectly angelic or a hard worker, or a mixture of the two, and the wife is simply motherly with no shallow motives.

A rather awful DoubleStandard; the notion of a girlish wife in need of control and protection by a fatherly husband [[DeadHorseTrope died off long ago]] but this one persists. See also HenpeckedHusband.

* Baron and Baroness Bomburst in ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang''. She buys the man ''toys'', for God's sake, and coos over him as if he were a precocious, temperamental infant. (Which, admittedly, he totally acts like.)
* This is one of the issues at hand in the film ''The Story of Us''.

** Averted with ''ILoveLucy'', where Lucy is far more naive and child-like than her successful husband.