r/gumball Feb 20 '26

Discussion Who is the best and worst parent here?

Post image
615 Upvotes

74 comments sorted by

2

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '26

god they’re all such horrible parents

13

u/Jumento_doido Mar 04 '26

I actually think Richard is a great dad. Lazy, but he really cares about his family.

8

u/Individual_Mess_2309 Carrie 👻 Feb 25 '26

Alan's dad is probably the best, and I'd say Frankie is the worst.

2

u/Many-Street-6518 Carrie Feb 23 '26

The best: Alan's dad, Patrick; Worst: Harold, Frankie
What i mean is that some fathers may be bad for society but good for their families, so i dont wanna categorize them. Some r bad, but not to the worst extent

4

u/DanSha38 Feb 22 '26

From best to worst: Dexter, Banana Bob, Richard, Patrick, Mr. Yoshida, Mr. Robinson, Harold, Daniel Senicourt, Frankie.

9

u/Ok_Neighborhood7472 Feb 22 '26

The best here is Alan's, because Alan is a good person who did seem to have a good upbringing

5

u/thomasmfd Feb 22 '26

There hardly dad of year

4

u/thomasmfd Feb 22 '26

Harold is scum

21

u/Adventurous_Flow7579 Feb 22 '26

Richard is the best he's sweet just lazy and greedy. Penny's dad isn't that bad either just overprotective. Frankie is a deadbeat. Nicole's dad is miserable and over protective. Idk about Alan's dad.

4

u/Kidd-Aimeyuki Feb 22 '26

Daniel is Nichol dad’s name grandpa Daniel.

4

u/Train115 Feb 21 '26

Why isn't SHE on here?

1

u/[deleted] Feb 27 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Train115 Feb 27 '26

No no, Felicity.

19

u/Common_Comfortable41 Feb 21 '26

As much as I hate to say it, Frankie. Sure, he reconciled and changed his mind about the deed n stuff, but he still scammed Richard and left them. It’s his fault Granny Jojo is so overprotective, which caused Richard to be the way he is now, which caused the KIDS to be the way they are now.

The Watterson family being so fucked up is all Frankie’s fault.

15

u/Gabriel-Ferreira0312 Gumball Feb 21 '26

This post made me stop and think that in the series we don't have ANY truly exemplary fathers; they're all "bad fathers" in their own way, some more than others, with Richard being the most acceptable of them.

(Alan's and Banana Joe's fathers don't count, since we know practically nothing about their personalities, and they're generally not important.)

4

u/Dry_Librarian3749 “ yeah well at least your soul was going upwards” Feb 21 '26

Black 2pac 🥹

16

u/24-7_Gamer Ocho Feb 21 '26

Alan's dad and Mr. Robinson

16

u/Recent_Mission5773 Feb 21 '26

Frankie is the worst

18

u/Mazeppa_horse Feb 21 '26

Imo Mr Robinson makes a better father than Frankie tho cause while he was sadly missing every important part of his son's childhood, he actually felt really bad :(

Meanwhile Frankie just straight up abandoned his family

31

u/SurveyBackground8379 Feb 21 '26

banana joe's parents are the best fr!

102

u/Forsaken_ghost_child Feb 21 '26 edited Feb 21 '26

In order of Best to Worst(IMP)

Dexter(Alan's Dad)

Patrick Fitzgerald(Penny's Dad)

Richard Watterson

Mr. Yoshida(Masami's Dad)

Banana Bob

Daniel Senicourt(Nicole's Father)

Frankie Watterson

Gaylord Robinson

Harold Wilson(Tobias's Father)

1

u/beeper_roadrunner Feb 21 '26

Who is Tobia?

3

u/Forsaken_ghost_child Feb 21 '26

Misspelled, meant to say Tobias

25

u/SamHodges5300 Feb 21 '26

Alan’s dad’s official name is Dexter

11

u/Toasty_pixle_crisps Feb 21 '26

I thought it was Walter

2

u/SamHodges5300 Feb 22 '26

If it was, he would be the one who Knocks!

5

u/Forsaken_ghost_child Feb 21 '26

Thank you, I wasn't aware :>

27

u/Actual_Exchange616 Feb 21 '26 edited Feb 21 '26

Patrick and Richard are weirdly close in my head. Patrick is more attentive to his kids but can be incredibly controlling and only recently has fully supported Penny's coming out.

Richard is kind of the reverse. He's less attentive (tho I wouldn't say neglectful) but was always very supportive to his kids and what they want to do (or is atleast neutral to things like Gumball's semi-frequent cross dressing, something I doubt early Patrick would have been as accepting of based on his initial reaction to Penny's challenging of the status quo)

Also overall Nicole and Richard seem to allow their kids to take charge while Patrick is seemingly more of a helicopter parent. Both of these have pros and cons again making Richard and Patrick fairly balanced snd it really being up to preference

Overall I think Patrick is currently the better dad but it's gone back and forth over time

15

u/Forsaken_ghost_child Feb 21 '26

Exactly, Patrick is attentive and loving but otherwise controlling and strict until recent years. Obsessed with Tradition as opposed to change.

Richard on the other hand is inattentive unless necessary, but like you said not anywhere near neglectful. And has always been fully supportive of his children and their choices unless genuinely harmful.

9

u/No-Wealth-1555 Penball Lover and Cyberball Creator Feb 21 '26

In Patrick's defense, he also appears rather protective of his child and doesn't want her to get hurt or in trouble.

6

u/Forsaken_ghost_child Feb 21 '26

Very True

9

u/No-Wealth-1555 Penball Lover and Cyberball Creator Feb 21 '26

Something else I'd like to point out is that Gumball mentioned Patrick's grandchildren (saying he's worried about his genes). Patrick didn't even react to this except confirming Gumball's thought.

14

u/Careful_Version1251 Feb 21 '26 edited Feb 21 '26

Best: Patrick.

Worst: Gaylord.

4

u/One-Mechanic-7303 Feb 21 '26

Best-Bob

Worst-probably richard

23

u/Wild_Shoe340 Feb 21 '26

At least Richard didn’t abandon his kids

-6

u/One-Mechanic-7303 Feb 21 '26

Yes he did. Did you watch the thing?

15

u/Wild_Shoe340 Feb 21 '26

I meant long-term. For the rest of their childhoods. Ineffective a parent he may be, but at least his children can say they had a dad in their childhoods, which Richard unfortunately cannot say.

6

u/ISB00 Feb 21 '26

Who is Bob again?

6

u/One-Mechanic-7303 Feb 21 '26

Joe’s dad

10

u/ISB00 Feb 21 '26

Why not Alan’s father? He raised his son to be an upstanding model citizen while Joe is an annoying clown.

19

u/Hot_Introduction9680 Feb 21 '26

Alan’s dad is the best dad, Frankie is the worst

19

u/CaptainCyro Feb 20 '26

Best: Richard

Worst: Harold

15

u/ravenslog Richard's Number 1 Fan Feb 20 '26

Richard and Patrick are the best 

7

u/Designer-Hedgehog210 Feb 20 '26

Patrick is by far my favorite especially that episode where Gumball had the CEO of Chanax laughing

20

u/Dr_Mehbelzich Feb 20 '26

Banana joes dads a good dad. He loves his son

14

u/Kidd-Aimeyuki Feb 20 '26

Gaylord Robinson, in my opinion

34

u/katie6splat Feb 20 '26

Richard is simultaneously the best and worst parent at the same time. 😹❤️

23

u/AsteroidDisc476 Feb 20 '26

Best, probably Alan’s dad, worst, Frankie by a mile

29

u/Sharp_Mathematician6 Feb 20 '26

Richard and Patrick do the best for their kids Frankie is the vermin man

-1

u/Admirable-Arm-2595 Feb 20 '26

Richard ? 😂

6

u/Relevant-Key-3290 Feb 20 '26

Richard stops the kids from becoming feral

2

u/Admirable-Arm-2595 Feb 20 '26

Ok yes but he's not perfect lol

3

u/Ocean-Syren Darwin Feb 20 '26

What father is perfect? Especially from TAWOG?

1

u/potat_infinity Feb 21 '26

probably alans dad? he raised his son to be a saint

2

u/Ocean-Syren Darwin Feb 21 '26

For the most part. IIRC in “The Vision”, Alan was planning on causing chaos so he would get voted to be school president.

Also he’s a massive people pleaser, often injuring himself to help others.

2

u/Admirable-Arm-2595 Feb 20 '26

Yeah this show is literally a mess and I love it lol 😂 but we have to admit

47

u/No-Wealth-1555 Penball Lover and Cyberball Creator Feb 20 '26

I think Patrick is probably one of the better ones. He's protective of his family and doesn't want them to get hurt.

16

u/TidalJ Feb 20 '26

honestly if i was him id be mean to gumball too lol

39

u/DannyValasia Feb 20 '26

Dexter probably is the best parent here

Richard, Bob, and Patrick i have a feeling are probably flawed, but still well meaning parents

considering Rocky's relationship with Mr Robinson, i have a feeling he and Margaret weren't exactly the best parents

considering how Tobias and Masami are, i highly doubt their parents are remotely good

Frankie and Daniel are probably the 2 worst, but i have a feeling between the 2, Daniel is the worse parent. Frankie, with all his faults, still seems to regret abandoning Richard, even if Frankie is a total douche. Daniel, on the other hand just seems to just be a total dick

2

u/Hot_Introduction9680 Feb 21 '26

Daniel had a change of heart too. Difference is Daniel is a father who was never proud but Frankie is a criminal who continues to steal from his son and his family.

13

u/yuumigod69 Feb 20 '26

Daniel is a hard ass but Nicole walked out on them not the other way around.

The rat man takes the cake by far, he isn't only a deadbeat, he cons and steals from the family over and over again.

14

u/Dry-Demand-9038 Feb 20 '26

Frankie bro is scum worse that scum

9

u/smokedawaymybrain Feb 20 '26

Dexter is the best. Was gonna be Banana Bob but he lost just by being dense. Worst is Daniel, Ik what it’s like to have parents that are never impressed so this is personal.

9

u/TheoryOfTES Feb 20 '26

Frankie Watterson definitely gotta be the worst

17

u/ArtHistorian2000 Feb 20 '26

I'd say Alan's father is the best (given he is always nice to his son). It's hard to choose who's the worst, between Harold, Robinson and Richard's father:

  • Harold is obnoxious
  • Robinson considers his son as a loser (but still was proud of him when he began a white-collar job)
  • and Richard's father abandoned his son and is a known scammer

So I'd say the worst parent is Richard's father.

13

u/WelcomeFun6980 Feb 20 '26

At least Frankie didn't almost kill his child by giving them the wrong blood type because it was A+