Father Knows Best

1950s domestic comedy series

Father Knows Best was an American radio and television sitcom of the 1950s depicting an idealized suburban family.

The title has become shorthand for a paternalistic attitude—the assumption that fathers (or authority figures generally) naturally know what's best for those under their care.

The phrase is now often used ironically: Oh, Father knows best—let's just do whatever Dad says.

Related

golden age television · white picket fence · small town America · wholesome · family · wisdom · apron · dinner table · living room · advice · moral · episode · black and white · traditional · housewife · stay at home mom · bread winner · children

Opposites
tone and sensibility

Father Knows BestThe Simpsons

Breaking Bad · South Park · Family Guy · The Sopranos · Roseanne

cultural era and values

Father Knows BestMaude

Traditional feminine name

The Jeffersons · counterculture · anti-establishment · Good Times · social realism

Family

father, fathers, fatherly, fatherhood, fathered, fathering, paternal, paternity, patriarch

Familiarity
Top 500,000
Profile
Mostly American · Concrete · Positive · Everyday, not technical · Rated G