History Main / TakingTheKids

* ''Film/BoilerRoom'' revolves around Seth a college dropout that gets hired to work at [=J.T.=] Marlin, [[WhiteCollarCrime a brokerage firm that sells worthless stocks]] to [[TheCon unsuspecting investors]]. One of Seth's victims invests his family's life savings on a worthless company, and after several heated arguments with his wife, she takes the kids and leaves him alone in their home. Seth regrets his actions, and decides to scam the company and give the guy his money back, right before the Feds come in and arrest everyone.

* In ''Anime/KureNai'' Souju got Benika to promise to kidnap Murasaki and take her away from the Kuhoin estate.

* ''Literature/AlphaAndOmega:'' In Gabriela's BackStory, her now ex-husband divorced her and took their three-year-old daughter, Heather, having been awarded custody because he worked out of his home and she was a globetrotting journalist.

* ''Anime/{{Monster}}'': Early into his first [[ADayInTheSpotlight spotlight episode]], Inspector Runge comes home from work to find his wife and daughter standing by the door with their bags packed, waiting for a taxi. [[InspectorJavert He barely notices.]]

A married couple a heated argument about their relationship. Maybe cheating is involved, or maybe one or both parties just can't stand the life they have together anymore. After a shouting match, one spouse storms out, but not before taking the kids with them. As an alternate scenario, they just leave, taking the kids and leaving a note while the other spouse is out at work.

* In ''Creator/JKRowling's ''The Christmas Pig,'' Holly's mother simply tells her to pack one day so that they can leave while her father isn't home. We don't know the exact circumstances behind their divorce, but her father, Brendan, is [[GoodStepfather a sympathetic character]], and Holly seems to be closer to him than to her mom, so the experience was rather traumatic to her.

* In ''Film/FallingDown'', VillainProtagonist Bill had a HairTriggerTemper that caused his wife to live in fear of him, taking their home and daughter in the divorce and leaving Bill with nothing. This causes him to have a nervous breakdown, as the film revolves around his desperate efforts to reunite with his family escalating into a GoingPostal rampage.

Closely related is FinancialAbuse, where one (if not ''both'') parties only want the kids for the financial benefits.

%%* Micheal Corleone's wife Kay plans to do this in ''Film/TheGodfatherPartII''. He refuses to let her, but frames his refusal with pleas for her to stay and work out their problems. When she reveals that she didn't miscarry their last child but instead had an abortion, he makes it clear he no longer wants anything to do with her--he slaps her--but again states that "you won't take my children!" She refuses to be cowed by this, stating "they're my children too!" %%Plans to do what?

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%%* In Manga/DearBrother, this happened in the past of one [[spoiler: Professor Misonoo]]. The kid is [[spoiler: Takehiko Henmi... who years later becomes the titular "Oniisama" and BigBrotherMentor to the heroine Nanako.]] %%What happened?

* In ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'' it's revealed that when Miyuki Shirogane's mother walked out on the family, she took his little sister Kei with her but left him behind, which seems to be the major reason he feels the need to prove his worth to the world. That said, she eventually goes back to her father and brother by the time of the present day partially because she felt guilty about leaving them behind and partially because she felt uncomfortable sharing a home with her mother's live-in boyfriend.

* In the film ''Film/{{Amadeus}}'', when Costanze loses her patience with Wolfgang Mozart's obsession with the hooded stranger, she gives him an ultimatum. When he sneaks out at night and then returns the next morning, he finds all her clothes gone, then discovers that neither she nor their son is in the apartment.

** Early on in the same movie, Jim Carrey convinces a GoldDigger client through some hilarious StrawFeminist arguments that she ''deserves'' a substantial portion of her husband's fortune to strike a blow for women everywhere. This is morphed to a DudeNotFunny moment later on when she uses this same argument to justify Taking The Kids- for child support payments, when up to this point she had shown no interest in having custody.

* The movie ''Film/MyOneAndOnly'', set in the 50s, starts with TheDitz wife catching her rich husband with another woman, so she hits the road with her two sons. The sympathy's initially less with her than with the OnlySaneMan son, though eventually she gets some CharacterDevelopment. The mostly unlikeable husband spends the movie waiting for them to come back because he's quite certain they'll never learn to support themselves, [[spoiler:though when he finds out otherwise, he seems willing enough to let them go before he dies]].
%%* Micheal Corleone's wife Kay plans to do this in ''Film/TheGodfatherPartII''. He refuses to let her, but frames his refusal with pleas for her to stay and work out their problems. When she reveals that she didn't miscarry their last child but instead had an abortion, he makes it clear he no longer wants anything to do with her--he slaps her--but again states that "you won't take my children!" She refuses to be cowed by this, stating "they're my children too!" %%Plans to do what?

* In ''Film/IrreconcilableDifferences'', after Lucy realizes Albert has been cheating on her, she packs her bags and drives away with their daughter Casey. They spend the night in her car.
* ''Film/BoilerRoom'' revolves around Seth a college dropout that gets hired to work at [=J.T.=] Marlin, [[WhiteCollarCrime a brokerage firm that sells worthless stocks]] to [[TheCon unsuspecting investors.]] One of Seth's victims invests his family's life savings on a worthless company, and after several heated arguments with his wife, she takes the kids and leaves him alone in their home. Seth regrets his actions, and decides to scam the company and give the guy his money back, right before the Feds come in and arrest everyone.
* ''Film/MiracleRun'': After Corrine breaks up with her boyfriend, she moves to a hotel with Steven and Phillip.
* ''Film/BreakingAndEntering2006'': When Bea was very young, she and her mother Liv moved from Sweden to England, leaving her father behind. Very little is known about the man.
* ''Film/LargerThanLife'': When Jack was an infant, his mother took him and left his father, an irresponsible clown. She didn't tell him where they were living, so Jack grew up with no contact at all with his father.
* ''Film/{{Tar}}'': After Tár finds herself in the middle of a scandal where it's revealed that she [[spoiler:abused and groomed several young women she had power over, her wife Sharon leaves her and takes their daughter Petra with her. Petra is the ''one'' person Tár loves more than herself, so it hits especially hard to see her begging Sharon not to do this, especially since the film ends before we find out if Tár will ever see her daughter again.]]

* In ''Literature/TheSpiderwickChronicles'', the mother took the kids and left because her husband was cheating, and one of the kids still idolizes the dad because he was LockedOutOfTheLoop.
* In Olivia Goldsmith's ''Literature/YoungWives'', Jada gave her husband an ultimatum: give up his mistress and try to make the marriage work. ''He'' then filed for divorce and complete custody, although she'd been sole breadwinner and doing all the homemaking, hence the ultimatum, crowning it with a demand for alimony. [[spoiler:In the end, played straight as she kidnaps the kids and takes them out of the country, albeit with their last-minute consent.]]
* In Alice Hoffman's ''Literature/TurtleMoon'', one of the plot points is that the female lead insisted on taking the kid after her divorce, even though said kid despises living in Florida with her and has his calendar rather spectacularly marked for when he goes to visit his father in New England for the summer -- he refers to it as "home".
%%* In the {{backstory}} of Laurie R. King's ''Locked Rooms'', Literature/MaryRussell's mother did this in the wake of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, although her parents did not divorce. %%What's she did?
* When Ekaterin walks out on Tien in ''Literature/{{Komarr}}'', she takes their son Nikki with her, which presents several unfortunate legal complications in the next book. [[spoiler:In spite of Tien being ''dead'', not least because Miles had to go to great lengths to prove he didn't [[MurderTheHypotenuse bump the man off to get a clear shot at Ekaterin]].]]
* In ''Literature/TheBoyInTheStripedPyjamas'', when Bruno's mother realizes what it means for her husband to be the commandant of a concentration camp, they spend several days loudly fighting, with Bruno and his sister listening to their screams. Eventually, she decides to spend the remainder of the war at the house of a relative, along her two children. Unfortunately Bruno decides [[spoiler: to sneak into the camp to say goodbye to his friend, gets mistaken for an inmate, and [[TogetherInDeath they're thrown together]] into a [[DownerEnding gas chamber]].]]
* The basic premise of the novel ''Literature/LolaRose'' is Nikki fleeing [[JustifiedTrope her abusive husband]] along with their two children. Although Jay had been abusing her for years, [[LoveMartyr she simply put up with it]] until he hits their daughter; believing he will start beating Jayni as well, she finally decides to leave him to protect them. Jayni is completely fine with it because her dad terrifies her, while her brother Kenny takes a bit more persuading because he's younger and doesn't fully understand what's happening. When Nikki later wonders if she overreacted, Jayni reassures her she did the right thing.
* In ''Literature/TheStoryOfValentineAndHisBrother'', the vagabond [[OnlyOneName Myra]] marries the aristocrat Richard Ross, but finds life as a ProperLady unbearable and runs away with their twin sons.

* In ''Literature/EvidenceOfThingsNotSeen'', Dwight and his mom finally leave his dad after he violently beats them one too many times.
* ''Literature/TheLightJar'' opens with Nate's mum waking him in the middle of the night, hours before her abusive boyfriend is due to get back from a business trip, and telling him to pack so they can go on holiday. They drive off the boyfriend's car. Nate doesn't realize they're not really on holiday until they arrive at the HorribleHousing where Nate's mum says they now live.

** A notable aversion is provided in the backstory; Jenny discovers letters between Caroline and her parents revealing she had decided to leave her husband, but she only had one ticket, implying she intended to leave her son behind with his father. Jenny - who can't imagine ever going away and leaving behind her daughters - wonders why Caroline would do this. [[spoiler:It turns out that Erich's [[EnfantTerrible disturbing]] [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior behavior]] was a big reason why Caroline wanted to leave, as she needed time away from her husband and son to [[DaddyHadAGoodReasonForAbandoningYou safely come up with a way to help Erich]]]].

* In ''Literature/TheSchoolForGoodMothers'', Frida's [[spoiler:parental rights are terminated and she is forbidden to have any contact with her daughter until Harriet turns 18, and only if Harriet seeks her out. She ends up abducting Harriet, fully expecting to get caught but figuring one last chance to spend time with her daughter is worth it.]]

%%* ''Series/DivorceCourt'' (the 1980s version) and ''Series/TheJudge'': A staple trope of these courtroom dramas. %%Example has neither context nor specificity.

%%** A line uttered by Tom Jane, who in ''Series/{{Hung}}'' went on to say "Who do I have to fuck around here to get my kids back?!"

* In the ''Manga/DeepLove'' adaptation, as a child when Ayu's parents divorced, her mother took her to her new lover and the father never visited her again even though he had shown her nothing but love when he was allowed to see her.

* On ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'', Joy tricks Earl into giving her their old trailer home as well as full custody of the kids when she tricks him into [[ArtisticLicenseLaw signing divorce papers under the influence of morphine]]. To be fair, the kids are not biologically Earl's, and Earl is unemployed and [[HomelessHero technically homeless]] anyway. [[spoiler: Well, one of them isn't. It's later revealed that Earl ''is'' the biological father of Dodge, but he and Joy did not know that because they conceived him at a Halloween party while wearing their costumes. At the point of the divorce, Joy thinks his biological father is Li'l Chubby, though she claims it's some random guy she met at a concert.]]
* In a recurring bit on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'''s "Weekend Update," Heidi Gardner plays "Angel, the girlfriend from every boxing movie ever." Her main schtick is claiming, emotionally, that if her boyfriend Tommy goes through with that one last fight, it's the last straw, and "I'm takin' the kids to my sister's!"
* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'': In "Simon Says", Zoe is involved in a custody battle with her estranged husband Randall over their daughter Hannah. Randall was granted temporary custody and delays the custody hearing three times as he knows that Zoe does not have enough money to keep up the fight.
* In one episode of ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'', Hal has a cancer scare, and Lois becomes more aggravated than usual, and eventually Malcolm and Reese come to the conclusion that Lois and Hal are getting a divorce. After Hal gets a second opinion that says he does not have cancer, Reese and Malcolm, [[LockedOutOfTheLoop not being told of what was going on]], and with packed bags, tell Lois and Hal that they accept the divorce, and ask Hal how soon can they move in to his new place. Lois, with a mischievous smile, says that they both agreed that should they ever get a divorce, [[AlmightyMom she would get full custody]].
* In ''Series/SquidGame'', the protagonist Gi-Hun's ex-wife already took their daughter prior to the start of the series with full custody over his [[TheGamblingAddict gambling addiction]], although he was allowed to see her from time to time despite his wife making it clear she didn't trust him. She got re-married and had another kid. Gi-Hun initially joins the DeadlyGame after learning that the stepdad got a new job in America and hoped to use the prize money to get custody.
* ''Series/YoungSheldon'': In "A Computer, a Plastic Pony, and a Case of Beer", Mary takes Sheldon and Missy to live at Connie's house in order to prove a point to George.

%%* Music/DropkickMurphys' song "The State of Massachusetts" is about child services doing this to a woman because of her husband who is "violent, malicious, and distant." %%Doing what?
* Music/MontgomeryGentry's "I'll Keep the Kids" has the narrator telling his wife that she can take whatever she wants, including his favorite shirt that he hopes fits old what's-his-name, but that he'll keep the kids.

* At the start of ''VideoGame/FishingVacation'', the player character's friend mentions that the last time they spoke to their uncle, he was going through a divorce from his then-wife. Upon arriving at the cabin - where no one seems to have lived in a while - you can find a note on the wall indicating the uncle's wife left him and took their daughter with her. [[spoiler:The truth is [[AwfulTruth far worse]], as the wife and daughter [[SubvertedTrope never got the chance to leave]]]].

* In ''WebComic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', [[spoiler: Vaarsuvius goes crazy with power and terrifies hir mate and their children in the process of saving them from a vengeful dragon. After V saves them and leaves to try and singlehandedly defeat the BigBad, hir partner sues for divorce and full custody of their children. With V having undergone an enormous MyGodWhatHaveIDone realization in the meantime, shi does not fight the motion, thinking that it is far better for hir now former partner and their children to be safer away from hir adventuring.]]

%%* Lois in ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' when Peter gets amnesia and starts going and having sex with other women.

* In ''LightNovel/KureNai'' Souju got Benika to promise to kidnap Murasaki and take her away from the Kuhoin estate.

Another scenario involves relatively little animosity between the two at all -- if the husband has gotten embroiled in a crazy UsefulNotes/ConspiracyTheory and the wife thinks he is losing his mind, then she can leave while Taking the Kids without any real hard feelings. Sure, the theory that LittleGreenMen are preparing to invade the planet might actually be ''true'', but usually the husband and the audience can understand why the wife is skeptical and worried about the situation and don't hold it against her. In this situation, you can usually expect a happy reunion at the end once all the craziness is over with.

* In ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'' it's revealed that when Miyuki Shirogane's mother walked out on the family, she took his little sister Kei with her but left him behind, which seems to be the major reason he feels the need to prove his worth to the world. That said, something apparently happened later that resulted in Kei coming back to her father and brother (and holding her mother in utter contempt), but the series has yet to explain this.

%%* ''Divorce Court'' (the 1980s version) and ''Series/TheJudge'': A staple trope of these courtroom dramas. %%Example has neither context nor specificity.

[[folder:Film]]

* In ''Film/TheFan'',the main character's wife taking his only son is one of the main things that drive him to homicidal rage and murder.

It's a classic scenario we all have seen. Husband and wife have a heated argument about their relationship. Maybe cheating is involved, or maybe one or both parties just can't stand the life they have together anymore. After a shouting match, she storms out, but not before taking the kids with her. As an alternate scenario, she just leaves, taking the kids and leaving a note while the husband is out at work.

* In Manga/DearBrother, this happened in the past of one [[spoiler: Professor Misonoo]]. The kid is [[spoiler: Takehiko Henmi... who years later becomes the titular "Oniisama" and BigBrotherMentor to the heroine Nanako.]]
* In ''LightNovel/KureNai'' Souju managed this ''posthumously'' by getting Benika to promise to kidnap Murasaki and take her away from the Kuhoin estate.
* Used as an EstablishingCharacterMoment in ''Anime/{{Monster}}'': early into his first [[ADayInTheSpotlight spotlight episode]], Inspector Runge comes home from work to find his wife and daughter standing by the door with their bags packed, waiting for a taxi. [[InspectorJavert He barely notices.]]

* Your typical LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek involves a woman who is married with kids and will usually portray this trope with the father as a villain, and may contain undertones of TheUnfairSex if the writer doesn't do a good enough job of showing ''why'' the father is a bad person.

* Also shown in a subplot of ''Film/AmericanGangster''.
* Attempted in ''Film/{{Casino}}'', but the wife comes back, given that her husband is in the mob.

* ''Film/TheFan'', where the main character's wife taking his only son is one of the main things that drive him to homicidal rage and murder.

* Used in ''Film/KramerVsKramer''; the positive angle is on the divorced dad.

* An unusual variation in ''Film/TheMaskOfZorro'': Don Diego's baby Elena is esentially abducted by his arch nemesis Don Rafael, who then raises the girl as his own. He justifies this (in his own mind, at least) by his [[LoveMakesYouEvil unrequited love for Diego's wife]] (apart from this, though, he does at least seem to be a relatively good father to her).
* This conflict drives the plot of ''Film/MrsDoubtfire''.
* In ''Film/ThePursuitOfHappyness'', which is based on Chris Gardner's RealLife. Gardner's wife, after an argument, leaves while Gardner is away and takes his son with her. Gardner catches up to them at his son's school the next day, and tells his wife in no uncertain terms never to take his son away from him again, regardless of any problems they might have. The wife, who has her own issues, eventually becomes an AbsentParent. At least in the movie.
** In RealLife too, although under different circumstances.
* This is part of the storyline of ''Film/TheSantaClause''. Tim Allen's character's wife wants full custody of his son now that she's getting married, which is something neither he nor his son want. Of course, it doesn't help that he's slowly turning into Santa Claus, and his wife thinks he's going crazy, going so far as to arrest him when he goes out with his son on the fateful Christmas sleigh ride. It also doesn't help that her new husband is a shrink (and a bit of an ass).

* Micheal Corleone's wife Kay plans to do this in ''Film/TheGodfatherPartII''. He refuses to let her, but frames his refusal with pleas for her to stay and work out their problems. When she reveals that she didn't miscarry their last child but instead had an abortion, he makes it clear he no longer wants anything to do with her--he slaps her--but again states that "you won't take my children!" She refuses to be cowed by this, stating "they're my children too!"

* ''Literature/TheSpiderwickChronicles'' is built on this. The mother took the kids and left because her husband was cheating, and one of the kids still idolizes the dad because he was LockedOutOfTheLoop.

* In the {{backstory}} of Laurie R. King's ''Locked Rooms'', Literature/MaryRussell's mother did this in the wake of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, although her parents did not divorce.

* ''Divorce Court'' (the 1980s version) and ''Series/TheJudge'': A staple trope of these courtroom dramas.
* The "divorced dad as a hero" angle is so common that it was parodied in ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' with the [[ShowWithinAShow Film Within a Show]] ''Homeless Dad'': "I just want my kids back
** A line uttered by Tom Jane, who in ''Series/{{Hung}}'' went on to say "Who do I have to fuck around here to get my kids back?!"
* Happened in an episode of ''Series/CriminalMinds'' where Hotchner took back his decision to transfer to Virginia with his wife and son to a less time consuming job. The episode ends with Hotchner coming home and finding it empty.
* Somewhat [[GenderFlip gender-flipped]] on ''Series/{{Lost}}'': Susan is able to take Walt from Michael partly because she's the mother and partly because she's the one with the money and the good job.
* This is the whole premise behind the 1970s sitcom ''[[Series/OneDayAtATime1975 One Day At A Time]]'': The mom took the daughters and left her husband. Why? Just because she wanted to prove that she could.
* Used in ''Series/TheShield''. At one point, [=Mackey's=] wife leaves with the kids and he doesn't know where they are. [=Mackey=] is the hero [[SociopathicHero well, at least we ''think'' he's the hero]], so he's still portrayed positively.
* This happened to Ayu in the ''Manga/DeepLove'' adaptation as a child when her parents divorced her mother took her to her new lover and the father never visited her again even though he had shown her nothing but love when he was allowed to see her.
* A rather unusual perspective on this trope is used in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' with the {{backstory}} of villain Sela. She explains that she was raised on Romulus where her mother (a [[TimeTravel time-traveling]] Tasha Yar) was a prisoner of war. One night her mother tried to flee the planet and was taking the girl with her -- but Sela was afraid of the idea of leaving her home and raised the alarm. When her mother was executed, Sela says "Everything in me that was human died... all that remains is Romulan!"
* ''Series/TwoAndAHalfMen'' has the antagonist ex-wife use this as a threat from time to time in order to drum up zany sitcom conflict so that the main characters try to find some way to appease her.

* A variation is discussed in an episode of ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle''. In that episode, Hal has a cancer scare, and Lois becomes more aggravated than usual, and eventually Malcolm and Reese come to the conclusion that Lois and Hal are getting a divorce. After Hal gets a second opinion that says he does not have cancer, Reese and Malcolm, [[LockedOutOfTheLoop not being told of what was going on]], and with packed bags, tell Lois and Hal that they accept the divorce, and ask Hal how soon can they move in to his new place. Lois, with a mischievous smile, says that they both agreed that should they ever get a divorce, [[AlmightyMom she would get full custody]].
* A variation occurs in ''Series/SquidGame'' where the protagonist Gi-Hun's ex-wife already took their daughter prior to the start of the series with full custody over his [[TheGamblingAddict gambling addiction]], although he was allowed to see her from time to time despite his wife making it clear she didn't trust him. She got re-married and had another kid. Gi-Hun initially joins the DeadlyGame after learning that the stepdad got a new job in America and hoped to use the prize money to get custody.

* Music/DropkickMurphys' song "The State of Massachusetts" is about child services doing this to a woman because of her husband who is "violent, malicious, and distant."

* It's possible to get this as a NonStandardGameOver in the ''VideoGame/HarvestMoonAWonderfulLife'' games, although you have to be trying pretty hard. If you don't do any farm work or ship ''anything'' at all, in the second or third chapter your spouse will eventually start asking you if the farm is doing okay. You can apologize and promise to work harder, or you can give rude and negative answers until your spouse gets fed up and walks out along with your child. Afterwards, Takakura tells you that if you don't like farm work, you should go find something you're more suited to.

* Used for drama in ''WebComic/TheOrderOfTheStick''. [[spoiler: Vaarsuvius goes crazy with power and terrifies hir mate and their children in the process of saving them from a vengeful dragon. After V saves them and leaves to try and singlehandedly defeat the BigBad, hir partner sues for divorce and full custody of their children. With V having undergone an enormous MyGodWhatHaveIDone realization in the meantime, shi does not fight the motion, thinking that it is far better for hir now former partner and their children to be safer away from hir adventuring.]]
* Used for comedy in ''The Collab'', where Heshe declares that she's leaving and taking the kids a couple times (the first time was before the kids were even born [[MisterSeahorse from Axel]]).
* Used for comedy in [[http://superredundant.com/?comic=123-assumptions this]] ''Webcomic/LeagueOfSuperRedundantHeroes'' strip. A man coming home early from work finds his wife being tied up by a strange man, both of them wearing [[DressedLikeADominatrix kinky]] [[{{Stripperific}} scanty]] outfits. He angrily storms off, taking the goldfish bowl with him. [[NotWhatItLooksLike It turns out]] that the outfits are their supervillainess and superhero costumes, and he's capturing her to turn over to the authorities.

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Marge Simpson did this when Homer bought a gun. She does it again in [[TheMovie the movie]].
* Lois in ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' when Peter gets amnesia and starts going and having sex with other women.
[[/folder]]

* A variation occurs in ''Series/SquidGame'' where the protagonist Gi-Hun's ex-wife already took their daughter prior to the start of the series with full custody over his [[TheGamblingAddict gambling addiction]], although he was allowed to see her from time to time despite his wife making it clear she didn't trust him. Gi-Hun initially joins the DeadlyGame after learning that she and her new husband planned to take his daughter to America, and hoped to use the prize money to get custody.