History Main / ChildrenRaiseYou

Or at least, that's how you feel at first. But actually, the parenthood that has been suddenly thrust upon you is a good thing. Apparently, having a kid to take care of is like [[ThereAreNoTherapists therapy]] and a dating service rolled into one -- by the end of the movie (or series, or {{arc}}, or what have you), not only will [[GoldenMoment you have learned]] how to be a good parent (with some hilarious mishaps along the way, most likely) and gotten over all of your issues, you'll have found a love interest too. Now the three of you can be a happy family unit together. [[SentimentalMusicCue Aww.]]

* In ''Literature/ListenToMeGirlsIAmYourFather'', the 19-year-old Yuuta ends up raising his three nieces when his sister and her husband disappear while on a trip. His dedicates his life to taking care of the three girls and matures considerably as a person. This specific trope is dropped at least once a volume in the novels.

* In the Literature/CircleOfMagic novels, Lark and Rosethorn run 'Discipline cottage', named for how its meant to teach children with difficult ambient magic how to discipline their powers. Rosethorn is a JerkWithAHeartOfGold with quite a temper, and seems endlessly frustrated with the hijinks of the kids in her care. Nonetheless, she grows to care for them- especially Briar, who shares her [[GreenThumb magic with plants]] [[note]]She's even willing to come back from the dead for him and his foster-sisters.[[/note]]. Later she develops a similar relationship with ''Briar's'' apprentice, Evy.

* Played with in ''AFOsGuideToAPeacefulRetirement'': a significant portion of professional villain All For One's development into civilian Hisashi Midoriya occurs prior to Izuku's birth, but it's his promise to look after Izuku after Inko's death, and his choice to prioritize Izuku over all other matters in his life, that solidifies Hisashi's decision to end his villainous career. As Izuku grows, caring for Izuku's needs forces Hisashi to socially re-engage with the world outside of villain circles, leading to the development of his FoundFamily and the broadening of his life experience.

%%* ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe1'', though the girls ended up with him because he adopted them.

* In ''Manga/SPYxFamily'', Loid Forger aka Twilight is an emotionless super spy assigned to an infiltration mission where he must adopt a child to get close to his main target. Intially baffled at the thought of raising Anya, he became less cold and has unknowingly develop fondness and concern for her, even reminded him of the reason he became a spy in the first place.

* Rather the point of ''Manga/OtakuNoMusumeSan''. Kouta is a rather immature otaku until his daughter, of whom he had no prior knowledge, drops into his life. Not only taking care of her, but also trying to earn her love and respect forces him to grow the hell up.

* In the Sahara Mizu manga ''Manga/MyGirl'', when the protagonist's high school girlfriend dies suddenly, he learns that the real reason she cut off contact with him years ago was to hide the fact that she was pregnant with his child. Said child is now five years old and, of course, has to come live with her father -- who is a shy pushover with no idea how to be a parent.

* Played with in ''Anime/{{Witchblade}}'' anime: for extra twist, everyone thought that Masane is really Rihoko's mother (even herself, because of LaserGuidedAmnesia). And it's not always clear who's whose custodian. It helps that Rihoko is [[WiseBeyondTheirYears wise beyond her years]] and [[EnsembleDarkhorse steals the spotlight without even trying]].
* The premise of the anime ''Manga/UFOBaby'' is two teenagers who barely know each other, who have to take care of a small baby they find. Of course, the baby is also an alien, but still...
* In ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'' [[AudioAdaptation second sound stage]], Fate worries that her adoptive children, Erio and Caro, by insisting that they are fine at the moment, are hiding any true problems that they may have (while they don't want to worry her and wish to become a bit more independent). By the end, when they come to an understanding, Fate reflects on Lindy's advice to let your adoptive children raise you, and thinks that was the case when she was being raised by her and Precia (before the latter went insane).
* In ''Manga/SakendeYaruze'', Shino goes through this process when the 17 year old son he didn't know he had shows up on his doorstep. He moves past his first love (his son's now-deceased mother), gains some emotional maturity, and ends up with a LoveInterest as well. However, unlike the happy family unit scenario mentioned above, his new relationship is what causes his son to then leave him and go back to living with his strict grandmother instead.
* ''Anime/PhantomQuestCorp'': {{Parodied}}. While Ayaka is Phantom Quest's president, it doesn't take long to see that it's [[BeleagueredAssistant Mamoru's]] management skills that actually keeps the company afloat. At only 12, he handles all of the administrative duties. Plus, he has to wake Ayaka up each morning, because she keeps [[HardDrinkingPartyGirl getting plastered]] and [[NotAMorningPerson oversleeping.]]

* In ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', Piccolo becomes something more than the reincarnation of his sire's hatred while training Gohan.
** Also from ''Z'', you could argue that Goku undergoes a significant maturation from the end of Dragonball to the beginning of Z due to the birth of Gohan. We also see him change and grow over time training with his son, most notably in the Cell Saga where he has gone from martial artist to Master in his own right.
* ''Manga/MusukoGaKawaikuteShikataganaiMazokuNoHahaoya'': Taking care of her younger sister Merii and later her infant son Gospel make Lorem a more responsible and caring person after a life spent fighting for territory and supplies. She's still flighty and impulsive, but cares enough about her loved ones to take her mistakes as learning opportunities and appreciate the help she receives.

* In ''LightNovel/ListenToMeGirlsIAmYourFather'', The 19 year-old Yuuta ends up raising his three nieces when his sister and her husband disappear while on a trip. His dedicates his life to taking care of the three girls and matures considerably as a person. This specific trope is dropped at least once a volume in the novels.

* ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'': Manny, Diego, and Sid become a closely-knit group after taking in Roshan, though they don't keep the kid.

PromotionToParent also forces maturity but often with the added toughness of the new "parent" being not much older than the kids and often the "kid" is their younger sibling.

Or at least, that's how you feel at first. But actually, the parenthood that has been suddenly thrust upon you is a good thing. Apparently, having a kid to take care of is like [[ThereAreNoTherapists therapy]] and a dating service rolled into one -- by the end of TheMovie (or series, or {{arc}}, or what have you), not only will [[GoldenMoment you have learned]] how to be a good parent (with some [[HilarityEnsues hilarious mishaps]] along the way, most likely) and gotten over all of your issues, you'll have found a love interest too. Now the three of you can be a happy family unit together. [[SentimentalMusicCue Aww.]]

%%* ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe'', though the girls ended up with him because he adopted them.

* This is the central premise of ''Manga/AishiteruzeBaby'', where Kippei, a lazy high-school playboy is forced to take care of his five-year-old cousin [[spoiler: after her mother/his aunt, Miyako, [[WidowWoman is widowed]] and almost crosses the DespairEventHorizon, thus leaving Yuzuyu in his care in a moment of mental/emotional stability]]. The gusto in which he devotes himself to being a good "mother" to Yuzuyu and the speed in which he matures is amazing, as well as quite heartwarming.

* In ''Film/BabyBoom'', the baby was left behind by a ''very'' distant, European relative that the protagonist, J.C., hardly even remembered. J.C., a yuppie, initially is focused only on her careers and has no interest in having children, but eventually grows attached to Elizabeth, the baby, forcing her to re-evaluate her priorities, so she decides to become a working parent and to raise Elizabeth herself.

* Ingrained in the premise of ''Series/MyTwoDads''.

%%* ''Film/BedtimeStories'' might be a little closer to the heart of this trope.

* Ryuuji from ''LightNovel/{{Toradora}}'' learned to be self-sufficient and how to cook, clean and sew since his father died when he was young and his WomanChild mother works late at night and sleeps most of the day, leaving him to do the household chores.
* In ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'' Haruhi Fujioka is like this. Because of her mother Kotoko's death and her father Ryouji/Ranka's long work hours, Haruhi does most of the work at home, cleaning and cooking for Ryouji and otherwise trying to take care of him, even telling him not to overwork himself for her.

* In ''Literature/HarrietTheSpy'', Harriet's friend, Sport, lives with his single father who is an unemployed, struggling writer. The guy doesn't seem to be able to take care of himself, causing Sport to try and keep house and look after him until he finally does get a job.

* ''Series/ICarly'' has a PlayedForLaughs version with older brother Spencer taking care of sister Carly as their father is on a very long military deployment and the mother is probably dead.

* ''Film/UptownGirls'': The resident spoiled Adult Child learns how to [[AllWorkVsAllPlay take responsibility]] while helping [[TroublingUnchildhoodBehavior jaded little girl]] to learn that it's still important to have fun.

So, you're a single thirtysomething with a few issues. You're a workaholic, or you're [[ManChild immature]], [[HardDrinkingPartyGirl irresponsible]], or [[InformedFlaw something like that]]. And suddenly, you're forced to raise[[HeartwarmingOrphan a kid]]. Maybe they're the recently orphaned child of your older, more responsible sibling who passed away tragically. Maybe they're a young cousin sent to live with you while their parents are away for a while. Maybe they're actually a child you had in your young dumb phase that you didn't even know you had. Whatever the cause, they're here and you have to raise them.

So, you're a single thirtysomething with a few issues. You're a workaholic, or you're [[ManChild immature]], [[HardDrinkingPartyGirl irresponsible]], or [[InformedFlaw something like that]]. And on top of that, someone you know (your sister, your best friend, maybe an estranged ex-wife) has just died. Life couldn't possibly get any worse, right?

Wrong. The dead person had [[HeartwarmingOrphan a kid]], and for some reason, you're the only person who could possibly take them in now. Sucks, doesn't it? You have no experience with kids, and between that and whatever your other problems are, you're [[MaternallyChallenged really not cut out to be a parent at all]]. So this is absolutely the last thing you need.

PromotionToParent also forces maturity but often with the added toughness of the new "parent" being not much older than the kids.

* In Creator/MarvelComics' CrisisCrossover ''ComicBook/{{Inferno}}'', a homeless drifter finds a baby that has been orphaned by the demonic invasion. Despite himself, he begins shedding his drunken bum self-image in an effort to protect the child. By the end of the comic, he's all but unofficially adopted the kid.

* ''Film/MyBestFriendsGirl''

%%* ''Film/AngelsInTheOutfield'': Duffy learns a lot from Bridget and becomes more of a ReasonableAuthorityFigure as he begins to ease into a fatherly role, marrying Paige and adopting the little girl.
%%** Knox in the 1994 remake, by surrogate parenting Roger and JP.
%%* ''Film/BabyBoom'': The baby was left behind by a ''very'' distant, European relative that the protagonist hardly even remembered.
%%* ''Film/BedknobsAndBroomsticks'': The adventures Price must undertake through her bargain with Paul lead her to Mr. Browne, and they are a family by the end of the movie.

%%* ''Film/BigDaddy'' with Creator/AdamSandler, although that one had a bit of a twist. Sonny at the start is a lazy jerkass. Sonny at the end is a mature (if still goofy) lawyer.
%%* ''Film/BreakfastWithScot'': Eric and Sam are already reasonably competent adults (Sam more so than Eric, who admits that Sam has always looked after him), but Scot teaches them to be more accepting of themselves.

%%* A major theme in ''Film/IAmSam'' is how Lucy at the age of 7 is starting to outsmart her mentally challenged single father which may or may not be obstructive to her mental development.
%%* ''Film/InstructionsNotIncluded'': The mother leaves her baby with the father and doesn't come back. The man goes to the US to find her but is unsuccessful and must raise the daughter by himself.
%%* ''Film/JackAndSarah'': This movie contains possibly one of the cutest things ever committed to film, in which Grant (stuck with the baby after his wife suffers DeathByChildbirth) carries the baby in a jiffy envelope with a sock on her head as a hat...

%%* ''{{Film/Kolya}}'' tells the story of Louka, an ageing confirmed bachelor agreeing to a sham marriage to grant Czech citizenship to a Russian woman and allow her more freedom from Soviet Russia... which she promptly uses to escape to Germany, leaving behind her 5-year old son Kolya. Naturally Louka ends up saddled with him...

%%* ''Film/LifeAsWeKnowIt'': After a disastrous blind date, Eric and Holly would be glad to never see each other again. But their friends -- the ones who had set them up -- die in a car crash, and had given them joint custody of their toddler.

%%* ''Film/MyBestFriendsGirl''
%%* ''Film/OldDogs''

* In ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob,'' this seems to be the case with Bob and Jean regarding Molly, to a certain extent. Jean observes this in [[http://bobadventures.comicgenesis.com/d/20081216.html this strip.]]

* The ''Franchise/HarryPotter''/''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' crossover “[[https://archiveofourown.org/series/968343 The Confectionary Chronicles]]” sees Gabriel/Loki deal with a variation of this when Hermione Granger swears her servitude to Loki in exchange for justice for her older sister’s suicide. Gabriel soon comes to see Hermione as a kind of daughter, but considering his distant relationship with his own biological children, he ends up asking some of his other children, such as Fenris or Váli, for advice on how to interact with Hermione as they have a better idea of how to talk with children than he does.

* In ''Manga/DetectiveConan'', TheAlcoholic PrivateDefective Kogoro Mouri is clearly being looked after by his 17-year-old daughter Ran. However, since he tends to suffer from AesopAmnesia, his CharacterDevelopment is inconsistent and he's still rather inebriated, irresponsible, and incompetent.