Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
As long as theres been TV, the family has been one of its favorite go-tos.
All week long, Vulture is exploring how its been represented on our screens.
Its 2018 now though, and things have changed.
TV parents no longer always know best, or even second best.
On the whole, as human beings, they are messier than theyve ever been.
What guides todays portraits of parenting is a desire to tell it like it is.
Its deeper, unspoken purpose was to reinforce the stability of the family unit and the roles within it.
The parents on these shows were not all bad.
Roseanne and Dan Conner, for example, managed to be strong disciplinarians and relatively open-minded.
The lesson is: never try.
How is it that parents who are apparently so smart in the world are so stupid at home?
Why are they such inadequate resources for their children?
These days on television, parents are stupid at home regardless of their economic status.
Theyre not simply parents, theyre also people still trying to figure stuff out.
Theres another reason why sitcom TV parents look the way they do right now.
These are the children of Whatchoo talkin bout, Willis?
as well as Im Bart Simpson, who the hell are you?
Like, at least 30 seasons worth of chances.
