Which Classic Sit-Com Family Would You Complete?
- by Lucas Wesley
- – on
- in Movies and TV
From the day we’re born, our parents are generally two of the most important people in our lives. While not everyone is lucky enough to live in the traditional two parent household, nor is such a scenario a necessity for one to become an upstanding adult, those of us who live it can definitely recognize the benefits of having a loving mother and father, or two mothers, two fathers, an aunt and a third cousin, or whatever situation you may have been raised in. As for people who didn’t necessarily have perfect loving parents for real, at least they got to experience some facsimile thereof on their favorite TV shows.
Let’s face it, no matter how great our own mom and dad happened to be, chances are they weren’t quite as picture perfect as the parents written by Hollywood writers for prime time. The families on TV don’t have any room for flaws that can’t be solved in 30 minutes or less, because if they did, audiences wouldn’t be interested in supporting them. In the real world, most of us can find a way to love our parents despite their flaws, but if you have trouble doing so you can just pretend the moms and dads on the small screen are yours. To get a head start on who to pick without straying too far from real life, take our quiz and find out which iconic TV parents are the most like yours.
How did your parents discipline you?
In the modern era, the idea of a parent physically disciplining their children in any way is almost entirely out of the question. Sure, parents can send kids to their rooms, give them time outs, or otherwise impose punishments that teach right from wrong, but spankings have gone the way of the past, and it’s probably for the better. Hopefully, your parents understood this and didn’t resort to capital punishment, choosing one of these other options instead.
Are your parents still together?
Over 50% of marriages end in divorce these days, and whether or not the couple has any kids doesn’t typically play a role in the decision to call it quits. Children of divorce can take solace in this fact, but that doesn’t take away the sting of one’s parents deciding they can no longer stand the sight of one another. Then again, it’s probably better than watching them fight every last second. Did your parents put you through either issue?
How long were your parents together when they had you?
As the old rhyme goes, first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a couple with a baby carriage. Of course, we know that’s not always the case today, when some people accidentally fall into parenthood literally overnight after downing a few too many tequila shots. Were your parents a happy loving couple for a while before deciding to have children, or was it having children that made them a “couple” in the first place?
Do your parents like your friends?
We can’t pick our parents, but we can pick our friends, which is why lots of people like their pals more than they’ll ever admit to appreciating their mom or dad. For this reason, some parents can resent their children’s friends. There’s also the fact your parents just might not like your allies in general, knowing they cause you to make questionable choices. Is this the case with your parents, or do they treat your friends like Eddie Haskell?
What financial class is your family in?
How much money a family has shouldn’t necessarily influence the amount of love they share. That said, a family that can afford a swimming pool, water ski, and Nintendo Switch might be a little bit happier overall than a family stuck with a black and white antennae TV that only gets five channels. Could your parents give you everything you wanted and more, or did they barely make ends meet?
Do you have any siblings?
While not everyone is lucky enough to have parents who pay close attention to them, let alone care about them at all, everyone nonetheless does have a mother and father in one way or another. Not all of us have siblings, though. Typically, an only child gets treated much differently than a kid with a few brothers and sisters, so did you have any?
Did your family ever go on vacations?
The idea of a family going on vacation is so prevalent in pop culture there’s an entire film series surrounding around the idea. Plenty of TV families have taken the Griswold’s cue and gone on disastrous family outings as well, and a few of them even got to go on trips that didn’t end in horrible pain and embarrassment for all. Whether they were fun or not, was a vacation all your family ever wanted?
What are your parents political beliefs?
Pervasive as politics may be in our modern lives, one’s political beliefs really shouldn’t effect their ability to be a strong mother or father. Well, unless those beliefs relate to so-called “traditional family values,” in which case they may be so inexorably linked that this question could become one of the most important on this list. That in mind, how do you predict your parents would vote?
What kind of music do your parents like?
Unless you happen to be extremely lucky, chances are your parents don’t rock out to the same sort of jams you do. Music is obviously highly subjective, and usually tastes differ with generations, so it’s only natural our elders would prefer the sounds of their own childhood than the hits of today. What type of music makes your parents hit the dance floor, back when they were kids or in the modern day?
Are your parents smart?
Despite being one of the most difficult jobs on the planet, parenting is also a task that one can stumble into with literally no qualifications at all aside from having certain working body parts. Therefore, there’s no guarantee your parents had the knowledge required to raise you, let alone take care of themselves or one another. Could yours, or did you have to takeover the show the moment you were born?
Are your parents clean?
On television, whether parents are particularly tidy or not, the houses they live in always seem absolutely immaculate. Even the laziest, poorest families on TV somehow live in houses free of any sign of a mess, which simply isn’t possible in the real world. Without production assistants to keep things clean, your parents had to clean up around the house all by themselves. Did they do their jobs in this regard?
Do your parents cook for you?
Despite the fact most kids would probably rather eat at McDonalds, their parents get to decide what’s for dinner, and this is probably a good thing. However, the mere fact our elders are responsible for getting us food doesn’t mean they cook it themselves, as some are too busy or too lazy to put a meal together on their own. Did your parents spend hours in the kitchen, or was the local pizza place on your speed dial?
Do your parents ever drink alcohol?
The stress of raising a child can at times be unbearable, but hopefully your parents weren’t the type to drown their problems in the bottle. That said, there’s not anything wrong with them drinking a little bit at the appropriate times. After all, most parents should be over the legal drinking age, and as long as no one gets hurt by their consumption, they may as well knock back a few. Did your parents so imbibe?
What kind of movies do your parents like?
When we’re extremely young, our parents will pretend to like whatever we like to keep us happy. We hate to break it to you, but your mom and dad may not have enjoyed watching The Lion King 900 times in a row as much as you did. As we get older, though, or parents can duck out when we start taking in entertainment that doesn’t catch their interest. What kind of movie wouldn’t your parent run from?
How do you feel about your grandparents?
When trying to find out why our parents made the choices they did in raising us, one of the first places a person should look is how their parents in turn raised them. Unfortunately, few families keep detailed video histories of their interactions, so chances are the best you’ll have to go on is how you yourself feel about your grandparents today. Alternatively, if you know how your parents feel about their parents, feel free to answer that question with them in mind.
Do your parents ever play video games?
Depending on how old your parents happen to be, their introduction to video games might have been buying you a Super Nintendo without having any clue why exactly the toy made you so darn happy. On the other hand, younger parents might have been the ones to introduce their kids to the gaming world, using an old favorite to spark a new shared interest between generations. Could your parents beat you at their favorite games, or would you have to teach them how to play?
Do your parents like to read?
Chances are the majority of people reading this quiz go to their TV sets when they’re looking for entertainment as opposed to the local library, and quite frankly, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Television can provide intelligent, layered stories the same way a novel can, so long as you’re watching the right programs, but older generations still might prefer curling up with a book to watching the old “idiot box.” Is that how your parents feel?
How do your parents dress?
Even way back in the days of The Brady Bunch, some of the parents on TV were dressing even more stylishly than their supposedly younger, hipper children. Unfortunately, most people are well aware this isn’t always the case in the real world, where our dads are bound to embarrass us absolutely no matter what they wear, and some moms out there are just the same. Did your parents clothing bring you shame, or did they actually have some style?
Have your parents ever done drugs?
Okay, so whether or not your parents drank a little alcohol now and then isn’t really all that important. Assuming there were no car accidents or other such tragedies, it’s no crime to get drunk, even if kids might be around when it happens. Exposing children to illegal drugs is another matter entirely, as being high while raising a child is generally cause for that child to get taken away. Did your parents ever test the law in this way?
What kind of car do your parents drive?
A major rite of passage for children everywhere is the first time their parents let them take out the family car for a drive. Sure, the specifics may change a bit depending on your family layout—if your taking mom’s car, dad’s car, or if they bought you a brand spanking new one on your 16th birthday differs from case to case. Just about every family has at least one car, though, and you probably loved the first time your folks let you drive it.
What kind of work did your parents do?
When we’re little kids, the exact sort of business are parents get up to while they’re away at work really doesn’t concern us. The older we get, the more curious we become about what it is they do all day…well, assuming it’s something interesting, at least. Children of accountants probably aren’t dying for stories about their parents day at the office, but you might be interested if your parents took up a more exciting profession. Did they?
Do your friends like your parents?
We already covered whether or not your parents like your friends, but the opposite can at times be just as important. Way before Mean Girls had Amy Poehler flat out brag about being a “cool mom,” the concept has exist in TV and real life for years, just has the equivalent “cool dad.” These parents would let their kids, and their kids friends, do just about anything, making them huge hits all around. Were your parents this popular, or did everyone hate them?
Do your parents still go on dates?
Typically, people go on a number of dates before getting married and having children, and the happiest couples around will continue going on their own special getaways no matter how long they stay together. This isn’t always the case, though, as some couples can quickly settle into routines free of intimate moments together. Kids tend to speed up the process, so if your parents don’t go on dates anymore, you might be part of the reason.
Are your parents religious?
No matter what religion a person happens to practice, they’re all pretty much the same on the subject of parenting, in that mothers and fathers should love their children unconditionally. Even if your parents don’t believe in any sort of god, basic common morality would suggest they do the same thing, so the answer to this question doesn’t in any way reflect whether or not they were good parents. It does say something about them, though, so did your parents worship anything?
How warm do your parents keep their house?
For as long as air conditioning has existed, dads everywhere have paid extremely close attention to them. It doesn’t matter if mom’s feeling a little cold or the kid thinks it’s too hot; it’s not going up or down unless he says it is. Well, that’s how it used to be anyway, as nowadays it might be the mom paying for it thus furiously keeping track of the house temperature. Either way, were do they keep the old thermostat?
Are your parents tech savvy?
With technology constantly evolving every day, it can be difficult for even millennials to keep up with all the changes. That difficulty increases tenfold for someone who never even owned a computer until they were in their 40s, as its possible they’ll never learn how to use the darn thing, let alone master it. Of course, it’s not like they’re age completely precludes them from understanding how to click a mouse, so are your parents technologically proficient?
Do your parents share your interests?
In the immortal words of the Fresh Prince, giving unforgettable advice to kids all across the land, sometimes parents just don’t understand. While the rapper was talking about his mom picking out lame clothes for him to wear, the real issue parents and their offspring tend to disagree on is how exactly we should be spending our free time. Would your parents want to hang out with you, or do they hate your interests?
Where were your parents more likely to take you?
The mere fact a child’s family took them on regular vacations alone doesn’t mean they were great parents. As this quiz already pointed out, even if you didn’t go on vacations at all, your parents could have loved you the same. Assuming they did have the desire to travel the world with you, though, they had plenty of options available on which destination to choose for family fun. Which of these options would they go for?
Which holiday is your parents’ favorite to celebrate?
As fun as the presents are, the true point of any holiday is to get together with your friends, family, and loved ones, and for this reason, parents around the world rejoice at every major calendar event that brings their kids back home. Though they didn’t have this problem back when we were kids, they probably still celebrated the heck out of their favorites to make sure you knew you had something to come back to later on. Which one made them go all out?
Do you want to be like your parents?
It’s almost a cliché in the entertainment world that children on television and in movies will do whatever it takes to be the exact opposite of their parents. Of course, despite all efforts, these defiant characters inevitably realize they’ve had a whole lot more in common with the old folks than they ever realized after some major epiphanies unfold. Would having a bunch of similarities with your parents make you happy, or would hearing that comparison drive you wild?
Did your parents support your dreams?
To some people taking this quiz, this may be one of the most important questions of all. Thankful as we should all be that our parents provided us food and shelter for some 18 years, this alone doesn’t necessarily mean they always had our best interests at heart. If your parents tried to control you and squander your aspirations, that they put food on the table doesn’t feel important. Were your parents like this, or did they offer unconditional support?
Did your parents buy you good gifts?
Forget about what holiday your parents loved the best—to most kids around the world, the best of the best is almost always Christmas, because that’s the day our parents are most likely to shower us with presents. If not in late December, hopefully your folks at least gave you some toys to play with every year when your birthday rolled around. Whenever it happened, were they good at picking your presents, or did you always wind up returning them the next day?
Which of the following TV shows is your favorite?
Okay, enough questions about your parents, how they got along, and how you feel about one another. Ultimately, this is a quiz about TV, and the kind you watch may just be indicative of the family you grew up in. Whether or not your interest has anything to do with seeing your real life on the screen, which of these classic shows is your favorite to watch?
Do you love your parents?
Ultimately, this is the only question on the list that really matters about how relationship with your parents. You’ve had 33 questions to think it over, so you should have a pretty good opinion by now on whether or not your parents did a good job raising you. Of course, even if you think they didn’t, there’s something weird about the human condition that makes us love them anyway…usually. Do you fit the mold, or do you hate your parents?
Do you think your parents loved you?
Perhaps the only thing more important than whether or not you can look back on your childhood and say you love your parents is whether or not that same process leaves you believing they actually loved you. In an ideal world, every child would be blessed with a caring parental unit that loves them unconditionally, but the unfortunate reality is that not everyone is so lucky. Were you?
