In the film Home Alone, we're the McCallisters bad parents?

[caj]

Home Alone remains one of my very favorite films. They show it a lot around the holidays, which I enjoy.

So, the age old question about this film is whether Mr. and Mrs. McCallister were bad parents.

While I admit my Mother was borderline smothering at times, I cannot imagine her or my Dad ever going anywhere without making sure me and my sister were both in the car.

What do you think?

[Gaastra]

The bratty older brother does all the crap but kevin is blamed and the jerk brother never gets punished. Its Arthur and dw parents all over again.

If they punished the jerk brother over someone who didn't do it than we will talk about them being good parents.

[James Cameron]

I love Home Alone. I do think the McCallisters are not the best parents, and it's more their treatment/neglect of Kevin rather than leaving him home alone. That was purely a tragic accident, although they should have figured it out before they got on the plane...

But part of why the movie is so great is Kevin's mother's reckoning with herself not just for leaving Kevin but for her overall neglect of him and treating him like the bad child. She holds a lot of guilt and berates herself through most of the movie. She stops at nothing to get back to her son. And even Kevin's father gets the whole family on the next available flight to be back in time for Christmas. It truly is a wonderful film.

[caj]

I know it's a great comedy but I must admit I tear up when he's reunited with his family and that window scene at the end with the next door neighbor reconciling with his family.

Great film.

[JBatmanFan05]

In the movie's framing and context, they're not really bad parents. At worst they maybe should have figured it out, but the framing is of tragic innocent enough accidence. Bad parenting is not decided by that kind of accident, framed that very specific way IMHO. 17-person international trip, kid's ticket trashed, rush to the airport, mother figures it out mid flight, 1990 airline procedures.

[Android 17]

I mean, I have nothing against them, but it is pretty alarming that you leave your youngest child behind TWICE in the span of a year.

Peter and Kate weren't winning any parents of the year award.

[chachi]

Well, they only attempt one time to call home / call the police. The true McCallister villain is Uncle Frank. He is a total ass in both films. Mooching free vacations on his 2 brothers, taking advantage of free drinks in first class, stealing airplane silver wear from first class, treats Kevin bad, etc.

[CTTT]

I know it's a great comedy but I must admit I tear up when he's reunited with his family and that window scene at the end with the next door neighbor reconciling with his family.

Great film.

Classic John Hughes trope with the window scene. There was another very good window scene in Uncle Buck as well.

[CTTT]

Well, they only attempt one time to call home / call the police. The true McCallister villain is Uncle Frank. He is a total ass in both films. Mooching free vacations on his 2 brothers, taking advantage of free drinks in first class, stealing airplane silver wear from first class, treats Kevin bad, etc.

Also yelling at Kevin in the shower when he goes to get his tie calling him a little pervert, lol. I love Home Alone 2 as well.

[Jokerz79]

I was 11 when the original movie came out and at the time no, we didn't consider the parents "bad" or at least no one I knew. I mean we were all latchkey kids back then if anything Kevin seemed sheltered with his naivete. By Kevin's age me and my friends were constantly home alone, running to the market to grab stuff for our parents' hell with a note you'd sometimes get them smokes. Most of us had laundry chores and other stuff that Kevin had to overcome in the film. I could cook by 10 and I mean full meals from scratch not warming things up. It was a different time.

[Tofali]

When I first watched the movie I only related to Kevin and now that I'm older Call me bitter but I think we were Uncle Frank bc the McAllister were too rich for any of us to be comparing ourself to these rich ppl that live in a 250k colonial house in the 90s and the other uncle to be able to afford 15 tickets plus to paris and the McAllister being able to afford 15 return tickets to get back home and don't even speak about how rich the neighbourhood is. I'm sorry I can't relate to how the McAllister parent or how they live their life.

[ZeroBG82]

Yes, they are objectively bad parents. There really isn't any argument otherwise. Well meaning, perhaps. But terrible.

[chachi]

I know it's a great comedy but I must admit I tear up when he's reunited with his family and that window scene at the end with the next door neighbor reconciling with his family.

Great film.

That scene is just one of the many that make no sense in Home Alone. The old man serial killer neighbor hasn't spoke to his son in years. It is 6 o'clock at night on Xmas Eve when he is in church with Kevin. Even if he did call his son, when did the son have time to shop for gifts for the dad he hasn't spoke to in years? A gas station? CVS pharmacy? lol

[ChrisIII]

Not sure what passes for canon in Home Alone but the parents get divorced in the fourth film (Which is a sequel to the first two but everyone is recast) and Peter almost marries a rich lady, although I guess they get back together at the end.