Parental Hypocrisy: Difference between revisions

On the other hand, the unsympathetic side of this is when the parent disciplines the child for doing something that they ''still do'' as a parent, rather than something they ''did'' as a kid, learned a lesson from, and don't do anymore.

 

 

Possibly a subtrope of [[Generation Xerox]]. The parent or guardian involved is often a [[Former Teen Rebel]].

{{examples}}

 

* The classic 1987 PSA where the teen son is being blasted by his dad for taking drugs, asks him where he learned to do that from, and the son starts screaming "It was from YOU, alright?! I learned it from watching YOU!"

 

 

== Literature ==

* In one of the [[Berenstain Bears]] books, there's a mild version involving a school dress code. The kids adopt obnoxious new fashions, and due to an escalating power struggle between the acting principal who keeps making new rules and the kids using [[Loophole Abuse]], it looks like the school will be going to uniforms... until Grandma Bear defuses the situation by hauling out photos of Papa and Mama Bear in their ludicrous Seventies attire.

* The [[Sweet Valley High|Sweet Valley Saga]] novel ''The Wakefield Legacy'' featured Theodore Wakefield, the great-great-great grandfather of the Sweet Valley twins, running away from home to avoid an arranged marriage. When Theodore's daughter Sarah was old enough to marry, however, he insisted that she marry the man of his choice rather than the man she loved. Sarah immediately calls him out on his hypocrisy. He doesn't even bother to justify himself, continuing to insist on his right to veto Sarah's choice. This leads to a [[I Have No Son|split between the two that is never healed.]]

* In ''Eyes of a Child'' by Richard North Patterson, Chris Paget finds his son Carlo smoking marijuana and [[Lampshades]] this trope by thinking that this was the sort of moment every parent who grew up in [[The Sixties]] dreads. Chris ends up admitting to Carlo that yes, he did smoke pot and it didn't kill him or ruin his life, but it just made him kind of dumb and wasn't really worth it.

 

* ''[[Gilmore Girls]]'': Lane's mom, a strict Christian, eventually found out that she was hiding her life away from her. How she found out was a mystery to us for a long while (how did she know to look under the floorboards?). Then, on Lane's wedding day, we find out that Mrs. Kim hid her life away from her mother (a strict ''Buddhist'') under the floorboards, and still does to this day! And she needs to hide her lifestyle fast before her mother arrives for the wedding!

* The ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' episode "Band Candy" has all the adults regress to teenagerdom; all this, as well as [[Hilarity Ensues|Hilarity]], ensues.

* In ''[[FoxTrot]]'', Andy complains to her mom about sending Peter music that annoys her, defending her claim with "But the music ''I'' annoyed you with was ''good''!"

* Similar to the above, this is a punchline in ''[[The Buckets]]''. The father complains about how his childrens' music is nothing but noise, prompting ''his'' father to stand there smiling because that's the ''exact same thing'' that he said about ''his'' music when he was younger.

 

== Theatre ==

** This is also because Lois believes that Ginger is ''too young'' to be using those things.

* In the [[South Park]] [[The Movie|movie]], Kyle's mom is willing to start a war if it means stopping her son from beaving improperly. The episode "It's a Jersey Thing" reveals that she's from [[Joisey]].

 

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