This trope is common in sitcoms and animation. There's a father/child or mother/child event coming up, and the kid is either embarrassed of how lame their parent is, or knows their parent is not capable of doing the event and will lose it for them -- again -- if they come. Or they're afraid if their parent comes to the event, the kid will get in some sort of trouble. So they find someone else to pretend to be their mom or dad. The gambit usually fails, and the outcomes tend to fall into three predictable categories: The other main variations are: Related to Paid-for Family.