Condiments - Final Four

 

TV Moms and Dads

They raised us! These are the moms and dads that we've all looked to over the years for advice, mentorship, and love. They've been our models for how to parent (and some of them have been our models for how NOT to parent). We've laughed, cried, and loved with them. But who's the greatest? There's only one way to find out. VOTE!

Old & New School Moms

(1) Clair Huxtable v (5) Elyse Keaton

Let the record show… Clair Huxtable raised five incredible kids and one bumbling husband. She was a high-powered attorney who had as much success in her law practice as she did on the home front. Clair was the model mom to an entire generation.

A perfect distillation of the 80s - Elyse and Stephen Keaton, ex-hippies, and now suburbanites. Elyse is a wildly successful architect who also raises Alex, Mallory, and Jennifer (we don’t talk about Andrew). She’s a model of grace, authority, and love.

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(3) Aunt Bee v (2) Carol Brady

No, she wasn’t Opie’s biological mother, but that doesn’t make her any less of a TV Mom. In fact, she wasn’t just a mom to the little guy, she was a mom to the whole town of Mayberry.

Here’s the story of a lovely lady… who definitely got more than she bargained for when she tied the knot with Mike Brady. Played impeccably by Florence Henderson, Carol was a breath of fresh air for TV moms. She was modern, fashionable, artistic, career-minded, and a heck of a mother to six mischievous kids.

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(1) Marge Simpson v (4) Marie Barone

729 episodes of being an amazing mother to Bart, Lisa, and Maggie (and Homer most of the time, too). She’s talented, wise, and has the scratchiest voice around. She’s a parental, spousal, and fashion icon of the highest order. Being the matriarch of the longest running tv sitcom of all time is no small feat.

We’re not sure if Marie should go in the Mother in Law Hall of Fame, or the Hall of Shame. She’s the cautionary tale of all cautionary tales - never live next door to your in-laws! Still, she loves her boys deeply and only wants what’s best for them. Of course, only SHE knows what’s best.

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(6) Peggy Hill v (2) Lorelai Gilmore

While so many of the characters in this bracket live in perfect houses in perfect neighborhoods, the Hills are simply normal. Peggy raises Bobby with what she considers to be an iron fist, but it’s really an oven mitt. She and Hank chose to raise Luann as their own as well, and Peggy, always one for a challenge, rose to that one too.

The primo Gen X mom. Lorelai is the cool mom you always wanted, but never had. Whenever Rory screwed up or needed advice, Lorelai was always there to tell her about how she’d done the same thing as a kid. Was she a responsible parent? Not usually. Did you want her to be your mom? Definitely.

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