History Main / UselessBystanderParent

* In ''VisualNovel/Cinderella Phenomenon'', King Genaro didn't do much to protect his daughter, Princess Lucette, from the abuse she suffered in her childhood. This was because he feared the abuser wouldn't let him see Lucette anymore if he tried to intervene.

* In ''Cinderella Phenomenon'', King Genaro didn't do much to protect his daughter, Princess Lucette, from the abuse she suffered in her childhood. Lucette even complains that he kept his distance from her even after the abuser was gone.

* In ''Cinderella Phenomenon'' King Genaro didn't do much to protect his daughter, Princess Lucette, from the abuse she suffered in her childhood. Lucette even complains that he kept his distance from her even after the abuser was gone.

** I Samuel 2 features Eli, the elderly priest and judge of Israel, who neglected to discipline his sons, Hophni and Phinehas, and as a result, his sons extorted raw meat from the ones bringing the offering when the fat was supposed to be burned off (Leviticus 3:3-5), and to make matters worse, they slept with the women who assembled at the tabernacle's entrance. By the time Eli reproves them, they ignore his warnings. A prophet comes along warning Eli that his sons would be slain in battle and that Eli's sins would not be atoned for; instead Eli's adoptive apprentice, Samuel, becomes the next High Priest and leader of Israel.

* Comes up somewhat frequently in ''Film/StarTrek2009'' fanfics, because [[FandomSpecificPlot a widely used plot point]] is for Kirk to be/have been abused by his stepfather and this requires explaining why his mother never put a stop to it; this trope (usually tied into some underlying explanation having to do with Kirk's father's death) is one fairly common way to do so.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Zigzagged with Willow Schnee. While she ''does'' love her children, her despair at discovering her husband Jacques was a GoldDigger led her to become an alcoholic and barely present in her children's lives, too trapped in her own helplessness to stop Jacques from abusing them. [[spoiler:However, she has also been secretly recording Jacques' activities in the manner for her and her children's safety, and acknowledges the role she played in creating the abusive environment they live in when she points out to Weiss that her brother Whitley hates her and wants nothing to do with her because she left him all alone with two terrible parents.]]

* ''Literature/AFrozenHeart'', a tie-in novel to ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'', reveals that Prince Hans lives with an abusive family, where his [[AbusiveParents father]] and 11 of his 12 older brothers constantly mock, beat up and mistreat Hans everyday. [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas His mother]] was very much against this, but years of her husband's cruelty and abuse at everyone has made her terrified, reducing her to an ExtremeDoormat who is unable to do anything but give Hans small smiles to acknowledge him, but his brothers pick on him for it. [[spoiler:Her reaction to what her youngest son did in Arendelle is never revealed]].

* In ''Literature/Ella Enchanted'', Ella's father admits to being upset by how she's treated by her stepfamily, but not so much that he's willing to return home to put a stop to it.

* In ''Literature/MySistersKeeper'', Brian never seems entirely comfortable with using Anna as a WalkingTransplant. Yet he does nothing for 13 years, during which Anna undergoes many painful, invasive surgeries. He seems to be making a stand when she herself sues for medical emancipation though...only to break down on the stand and admit that really, he wants Anna to do what her mother, Sara, wants her to do (presumably because he's terrified that Anna's sister, Kate, will die otherwise...or because he clings to the family's status quo).

* In the Bollywood movie ''StudentOfTheYear'', there are examples from both genders in two of the main characters' families, but neither perpetrator is treated sympathetically for this.

* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' with Cartman and his mother, where it is in fact the ''child'' who is the source of the abuse. Cartman's mother has shown on occasion that she clearly disapproves of her son's sadistic and cruel behavior, but she's such an enormous pushover that the most she usually does in response is to politely ask him to stop. In the season ten episode "Tsst," it's revealed that her enabling is a result of her having no other people in her life her care about her enough to spend time with her, and she uses her son to fill the void, spoiling him in the process.

* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' with Cartman and his mother, where it is in the ''child'' who is the source of the abuse. Cartman's mother has shown on occasion that she clearly disapproves of her son's sadistic and cruel behavior, but she's such an enormous pushover that the most she usually does in response is to politely ask him to stop. In the season ten episode "Tsst," it's revealed that her enabling is a result of her having no other people in her life her care about her enough to spend time with her, and she uses her son to fill the void, spoiling him in the process.

* Momiji's dad in ''Manga/FruitsBasket''. Ultimately, he chooses his wife over his son, asking Hatori to wipe his wife's memory of Momiji to prevent her from confronting the oh-so-horrible fact that, through no fault of his own, Momiji turns into a cute bunny when hugged. He promises Momiji that he'll love him twice as much to make up for his mother rejecting him. Yet all we see him do is constantly run interference to make sure Momiji sees as little of his mother and sister as possible. Momiji is even expected to apologise if he runs into them accidentally. When Momiji's sister, Momo, decides she wants to learn the violin, Momiji's dad stops Momiji's lessons in favour of his daughter getting the best violin tuition, without the risk of her encountering her brother... Even though the main reason Momo wants to learn violin is so she could play for Momiji, [[DramaticIrony who she wants to have as a big brother]]. As with nearly all parents in this series no-one ever calls him out on this.

** Kyoko was massively abused [[spoiler:and eventually disowned]] by her father, while her mother did nothing but fret and wonder how her daughter turned out so poorly and what would the neighbors think?

* ''Literature/TheBible'' has an example in the form of David. His son Amnon rapes his sister Tamar and we are told that he is infuriated by this action and nothing else(at least not in the way of punishment). Ultimately it's Absalom who takes Tamar in and [[SilentTreatment refuses to speak to Amnon.]] Absalom has Amnon killed for the crime two years later. Ironically he was the one who told Tamar not to take Amnon's actions to heart.
-->'''2 Samuel 13:21'''
--> 21 Now when King David heard about all these things, he was very angry [but failed to take any action].
** I Samuel 2 features Eli, the elderly priest and judge of Israel, who neglected to discipline his sons, Hophni and Phinehas, and as a result, his sons extorted raw meat from the ones bringing the offering when the fat was supposed to be burned off (Leviticus 3:3-5), and to make matters worse, they slept with the women who assembled at the tabernacle's entrance. By the time Eli reproves them, they ignore his warnings, and a prophet comes along warning Eli that his sons would be slain in battle and that Eli's sins would not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering because he neglected to discipline them, and the Lord would raise up a faithful priest, with Samuel taking on the roles of high priest and judge after Eli's death.

* Momiji's dad in ''Manga/FruitsBasket''. Ultimately, he chooses his wife over his son, asking Hatori to wipe his wife's memory of Momiji to prevent her from confronting the oh-so-horrible fact that, through no fault of his own, Momiji turns into a cute bunny when hugged. He promises Momiji that he'll love him twice as much to make up for his mother rejecting him. Yet all we see him do is constantly run interference to make sure Momiji sees as little of his mother and sister as possible. Momiji is even expected to apologise if he runs into them accidentally. When Momiji's sister, Momo, decides she wants to learn the violin, Momiji's dad stops Momiji's lessons in favour of his daughter getting the best violin tuition, without the risk of her encountering her brother... Even though the main reason Mom wants to learn violin is so she could play Momiji, [[DramaticIrony who she wants to have as a big brother]]. As with nearly all parents in this series no-one ever calls him out on this.

* Gladstone Gander in the WesternAnimation/DuckTales fanfic ''[[Fanfic/LittleBro Little Brother]]''. He tries to be competent, but old habits die hard, and since he is the luckiest goose in the world who's ''not'' used to exerting effort or thinking too hard, he has this problem.

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