Television is a wonderful escape from our real lives. And for decades, kids have been watching sitcoms, dramas, and other shows, imagining what their lives might be like if they were growing up in the world depicted on television.
In some cases, you look at a TV family and think, wow, they have the best mom and dad (no insult to real parents, of course), and other times, you look at characters and feel sorry for them because of their terrible parents.
So which TV parents would viewers most love to have in their own fictional world, and which ones would viewers prefer to steer clear of? Here are just a few.
Phil and Claire Dunphy: Modern Family (Want)
They manage to be both overly corny and incredibly relatable at the same time. Having had kids early, they are both still young and spritely even though all three of their kids have headed off to the working world or college.
Phil is the super corny dad that embarrasses his kids but they secretly would never it they like it. And Claire is the typical high-strung A-type mom who gave up her career to raise a family but still has that career mindset. Successful and caring yet still able to make time for one another, they're picture perfect even if they really are anything but.
Mitchell and Cameron Tucker: Modern Family (Don't Want)
On the flip side, Claire's brother Mitchell and his husband are, let's face it, terrible parents. They adopted Lily when she was a baby, and now a teenager, they seem to often forget about her in their busy social lives.
They try to give her advice but have no idea how and treat her as though she is an afterthought and a last priority behind keeping up with their single, partying, and handsome group of gay friends. It's delivered in a lighthearted way on the show, which is a comedy, after all. Nonetheless, while they would make great friends, parents? No thanks.
Jack and Rebecca Pearson: This Is Us (Want)
The epitome of amazing parents, Jack and Rebecca are the true picture of perfection, if only Jack wasn't dead, of course. They were deeply in love with one another, and even though they had to go through their own troubles, including Jack's alcoholism, they never wavered and were always there for one another. And no matter what, the three kids always came first.
It's solidified in the fact that, via a time jump, all three kids, now adults, have mainly fond memories to look back on about their childhoods. At least when it come to their parents.
Ross and Rachel: Friends (Don't Want)
It's easy to forget that Ross and Rachel actually did have a child together because they weren't actually together. Instead, they were co-parenting, that is, until the end of the series when they officially decided to become a family unit.
But viewers didn't get to see this play out. Nonetheless, given Ross' incessant whining not to mention the fact that he seemed to have forgotten about his first kid altogether, they're probably TV parents worth steering clear of. Too much drama!
Red and Kitty Foreman: That '70s Show (Want)
Sure, they fought sometimes. And they are from a different generation when the dad sat on the couch all day after working, reading the paper, or watching the game with a beer in his hand while the wife did all of the housework. But Kitty was a pretty strong woman, too, who didn't shy away from speaking her mind.
And every kid loves that one friends' parents who have an open door policy, letting you hang out in their basement for all hours of the day and night.
Karen and Ted Wheeler: Stranger Things (Don't Want)
Most of the time, these two were pretty oblivious of everything that was going on, including where either of their kids was at any given time. Karen seemed like the typical bored housewife trying to find some thrills but feeling guilty if she ever got them. Ted, meanwhile, was the comfortable dad who fit into his role like a shoe into a slipper.
Neither of them, however, seemed to do much parenting at all. They all seemed to be living in their own separate worlds.
Phillip and Vivian Banks: The Fresh Prince of Bel Air (Want)
What makes Phillip and Vivian worthy TV parents is that they were not only filthy rich and ridiculously smart, but they also made time for their children despite their busy schedules.
Phil and Vivian were both never afraid to throw down the hammer if needed. Phil would discipline the kids as needed and Vivian would roll up her sleeves and terrify you into listening to what she had to say. They were strict but also super fun, and better than rich parents who are never around.
Hiram and Hermione Lodge: Riverdale (Don't Want)
Poor Veronica has to deal with having parents who do dirty dealings, including essentially running a criminal empire. Imagine having no choice but to your parents in doing terrible things, or try to escape them and be left with nothing?
And while they presume to love one another, the fact that they've actually tried to murder one another would suggest otherwise. No thanks.
Rainbow and Dre Johnson: Black-ish (Want)
Both parents think they're super cool and constantly try to out-cool one another. They act as friends to their kids but also discipline them as needed, even if they don't always make the right decisions or have a difference of opinion on what to do (though they always come together in the end, usually when Dre comes to his senses!).
Now with five children, including two who have grown into young adults and the newest still in diapers, they have this parenting thing down pat. And there's always a good balance of fun and education in the house.
Don and Betty Draper: Mad Men (Don't Want)
Perhaps it was a sign of the times since this series took place in the '50s and '60s. But Betty and Don weren't the greatest parents. Caught up in their own worlds, Betty was a bored housewife who knew Don was cheating and Don a philandering alcoholic who often missed milestone events and wasn't even who he said he was.
When it came to the kids, Don was rarely around and Betty would get so frustrated sometimes, especially with Sally, that she even once locked her daughter in a closet as a punishment.