Basic Trope: Parental pressure to procreate.
- Straight: Sharon's mother Shannon (and her father Seamus too) wants her to get married and have kids as quickly as possible.
- Exaggerated:
- From the moment her daughter was born, Shannon has raised her with one goal in mind: to get her married off and start pumping out the grandbabies!
- Shannon already has picked out potential names for her future grandkids, has been stockpiling baby clothes for them, has set up a guest bedroom for sleeping over at Grandma's. Bonus points if she hasn't even had kids yet!
- Sharon is a multi-millionaire CEO who isn't really concerned about dating, marriage, or having children. Her sister Stacy is a stereotypical white trash hick who has five times as many children as she can afford. Shannon considers Stacy a success and Sharon a failure.
- The only thing Shannon ever says to her daughter is "Gimme grandkids!"
- Sharon is diagnosed with a dreaded Soap Opera Disease that will kill her if she ever gives birth to a child, even if she has a C-section. Shannon's response is to immediately call a funeral home and make a reservation for nine months from now. "Now hurry up and get cracking, you have to cancel 24 hours in advance or they still charge you!"
- Downplayed:
- Although Shannon respects Sharon's decision in not getting married and having kids, she isn't too happy with her.
- Shannon and Sharon have an inside joke where Shannon demands Sharon hurry up and have children of her own every time they meet.
- Shannon wants Sharon to have children, but is okay with waiting and does not mention it to her.
- Shannon occasionally mentions that when she was Sharon's age, she had already had a child. Shannon doesn't mean anything by it, but Sharon believes she's being passive-aggressive and that she wants her to have children.
- Sharon's aunt Samantha is the one bugging her to get kids.
- Justified:
- Sharon has only moved away recently, and Shannon and Dale are empty nesters. Sharon would rather focus on her career and/or her social life.
- Shannon grew up with loving parents who helped her to raise Sharon. She wants to follow their example before she gets too old.
- Queen Shannon is desperate for Rebellious Princess Sharon to produce offspring to secure the future of the dynasty, otherwise there will be grave political consequences in years to come.
- Shannon always dreamed of wanting grandchildren when she gave birth to Sharon.
- Shannon thinks that being a parent is what makes Sharon a more responsible person.
- Inverted:
- Sharon, an only child, begs her mother for a sibling.
- Alternatively, Sharon wants to give her mother Shannon grandkids.
- Shannon gives Sharon grief because she very definitely doesn't want any grandchildren.
- Seamus is Sharon's Boyfriend-Blocking Dad who is terrified at the thought of his daughter having sex and getting pregnant.
- Subverted: Sharon mentions that a family member who wants her to have kids. This turns out to be he brother Stanley, who is wanting to be an Uncle.
- Double Subverted: Stanley only tells that to Sharon, because Shannon told her to.
- Parodied:
- Shannon has three children (Stanley, Sharon and Stacy), and none of them have a promising career. While she heavily pressures Sharon to hurry up, get married and have kids, she discourages Stacy from the very same goals, and is completely indifferent to whether or not Stanley settles down and gets to the baby-making. In short, she is selective.
- Shannon refers to this trope when Sharon asks why she wants grandkids so much.
- Zig Zagged:
- Shannon flips back and forth between whether she wants Sharon to have kids or not on a whim. She's horrified when Sharon indicates she might get together with a guy she disapproves of, but when that guy's out of the picture...
- Young Sharon does not want to have a sibling, and gives her expectant mother grief.
- Averted: Shannon does not particularly want grandchildren.
- Enforced: The writer of the series wants grandkids and is dropping not-so-subtle hints to their child, the producer.
- Lampshaded:
- "My parents really want grandkids; they call me everyday asking about them."
- "Mom, I've already told you I'm not going to have babies! If you're looking for something to do, why not take up a new hobby?"
- "Why do our parents ask for grandkids?" "I don't know. Maybe they're bored."
- Invoked:
- Shannon has picked up on the UST between Sharon and Bob, and clumsily attempts to push them together by dropping less-than-subtle hints that she thinks they'd make some cute kids together.
- Sharon vows not to have any children no matter what Shannon (or anyone else) thinks.
- Exploited:
- Sharon's abusive on-again, off-again boyfriend Edward tries to strongarm her into sex by reminding her of her mother's wishes.
- Edward tries to lure her away by acting supportive and offering a sympathetic ear, gently manipulating her into despising her mother's meddling.
- Defied:
- Shannon stays out of Sharon's lovelife.
- Shannon never brings up the subject of grandkids with Sharon.
- When Sharon and Bob marry, Sharon asks Shannon if she wants grandkids. The answer is no.
- Alternatively, Shannon asks Sharon if she and Bob will have kids. She says they don't want to, and Shannon is okay with it.
- Shannon lets Sharon make her own choice whether or not she becomes a parent and never bugs her about grandchildren.
- Sharon's sister decides to marry and have children, just to get Shannon off Sharon's case.
- Bob, Sharon's not-boyfriend, eventually sits Sharon and Shannon down so they can get over their problems. The end result is Shannon stops pressuring Shannon about babies and starts shipping her with Bob.
- Sharon adopts a child.
- Discussed: "Look, Bob, I really don't want a baby." "Do your parents want grandchildren? We should try to make them happy." "No, my sister Stacy already took care of that."
- Conversed: "Why should Sharon have children only to please her mother? It's Sharon's life, after all."
- Deconstructed:
- Sharon becomes so desperate to please her mother that she ends up in a bad relationship with Domestic Abuser Edward.
- Sharon becomes bitterly resentful of her mother's fixation on having grandchildren, eventually accusing her mom of only seeing a potential grandchild as "being able to have a kid again" while shifting all of the responsibilities onto her instead. She then scathingly asks if her mother even really cared about her own feelings on the matter at all, or if she just existed only to give what her mother wanted.
- Reconstructed:
- Sharon breaks up with Edward and starts dating Bob instead. Shannon is relieved that Bob is not abusive, though she still resents the fact that Sharon and Bob have no plans to start a family.
- Shannon is understandably horrified at the accusation, and realizing that she's been treating her daughter as little more than a baby machine for her own benefit. She tearfully apologizes, and while she still does want grandkids, she tries her best to take Sharon's feelings into consideration.
- Played For Laughs: Sharon is lesbian, and her mother keeps asking her why she is not getting married and when will she have children. Gayngst ensues.
- Played For Drama:
- Shannon makes clear that Sharon is her unfavorite, supporting Stacy's chosen career as an actress while proclaiming that the only worthwhile thing her other daughter could accomplish would be landing a good man and giving her grandkids.
- Shannon has a terminal illness that will kill her in 5 years, and she wants to see her grandchildren before she passes away.
- Sharon was raped; Shannon pressures her to keep the child, telling her Good Girls Avoid Abortion and even going so far as to claim this is her 'only chance' at motherhood, as nobody else would want her now that she's "damaged goods". However, the last thing Sharon wants is to keep the child because it will forever be a reminder of the horrible day she was raped...
- Shannon was raised to believe that women's worth lies in having children, and honestly believes/fears that she will have failed as a mother if her daughter doesn't continue the family line. The pressure she keeps putting on her daughter to procreate already only reaffirms Sharon's desire to remain childfree, driving a wedge between them.
- Sharon is lesbian, asexual, and/or transgender, and can't/doesn't want to physically procreate. Shannon is either not aware of this, making Sharon feel pressured over living up to her mother's expectations but not wanting to abandon her identity; or is aware of it and hates it, trying to force her daughter to "overcome" her identity and settle down with a man to have babies with him as a woman.
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