Basic Trope: A character who longs for the approval of their child.
- Straight: Al is seeking the approval of Bob, his distant son.
- Exaggerated: Al is going the extra mile to gain the respect of his son Bob, who has barely interacted with him for most of his life.
- Downplayed: Bob and Al have a pretty solid relationship, but Bob thinks Al is a bit of a square so Al tries to become cooler.
- Justified:
- Al is usually a strict parent, but he wants to show a friendly side to Bob to make sure he doesn't stay mad at him for too long.
- Al used to hang with Bob when he was younger. Now that Bob is a teenager, Al wants to relive those days all over again.
- Al is suffering from a drug problem which has led down Bob one times too many, and wants to turn his life around for his sake.
- Al was abusive to Bob. He regrets what he has done to him all these years and wants to reconcile with him.
- Al only just learned of his fatherhood to Bob as (the now deceased) Clarice was just a One-Night Fling.
- Inverted:
- Bob wants the approval of his father Al, who's rather aloof and distant.
- Al tries his hardest to get Bob to hate him so much.
- Subverted: ???
- Double Subverted: ???
- Parodied: ???
- Zig Zagged: ???
- Averted: Al neither desires the approval of Bob nor does Bob shows how proud he is of Al.
- Enforced: ???
- Lampshaded: "Why is it hard for Bob to at least show me a little bit of acknowledgement?"
- Invoked: ???
- Exploited: Bob is a cruel teen making sure Al gets stressed out on earning his respect.
- Defied: "You know what? Forget it. You're the best dad a son could ever have!"
- Discussed: "Why do children always seem to take their parents for granted?"
- Conversed: ???
- Deconstructed:
- See "Exploited". This time, Al gives up trying to win his son's respect and kicks him out of the house.
- When Bob gets ran over by a semi-truck and dies, this proves that Al is too late to gain his approval.
- The lack of approval from his son has caused Al to become an Archnemesis Dad.
Back to "Well Done, Dad!" Guy.
