Was Bob a decent parent?

[Jack Haywood]

Also, I think his previous family cut all contact because of Snorlax too.

Hell, Cole specifically mentioned to Chris that Barb "worked her bitter influence" to turn Bob against him as well. That's what he implies in his emails, anyway.

 

[Mangosteen]

I don't want to to powerlevel, but a relative I had was akin to Barb personality wise.

Such people can be tyranical and very hard to oppose. They may threaten suicide or harm to the child and I can understand why Bob would back down. Standing up to Barb is not as easy for a family member than it is for a random stranger.

He was at best a mediocre parent. Could he have made Chris into a semi-functional tard who doesn't chimp out every week if Barb was not in the picture? Maybe.

Also, I think his previous family cut all contact because of Snorlax too.

When it comes down to it, I think Bob could have set Chris straight if he wasn't so worn down. Then again, life at 14 Branchland Court could wear down even the most extreme survivors, and Bob was a Korean War vet!

 

[AnOminous]

When it comes down to it, I think Bob could have set Chris straight if he wasn't so worn down. Then again, life at 14 Branchland Court could wear down even the most extreme survivors, and Bob was a Korean War vet!

Bob survived Korea, managing to avoid dying face down in a ditch eaten by bugs, only to make it back to the U.S., where he ended up buried in garbage and eaten by bugs in his own bed.

 

[Mangosteen]

Bob survived Korea, managing to avoid dying face down in a ditch eaten by bugs, only to make it back to the U.S., where he ended up buried in garbage and eaten by bugs in his own bed.

I actually feel sorry for Bob. I'd hate to spend the last years of my life constantly bombarded by prank calls and dying as a bug-riddled shell of myself. Makes me wonder why he had to be dragged into that mess.

Out of the three main Chandlers, I think Bob may have been the most decent one.

 

[normankrasner]

Bob probably choose the CAD degree program for Chris since it would only take 2 years (or so he thought) instead of a marketing/business degree that would have required another 2 years at a four year college. Being a retired engineer he probably thought liberal arts degrees were useless and a CAD degree would never be obsolete given his long career as an engineer. Maybe if Chris had looked for job after taking longer than necessary to earn that degree, he might have been able to get an entry level drafting job that would have given him additional training or tuition reimbursement when the things he learned at PVCC became obsolete but the important thing for Borb was that it got Chris out of the house for another 5 years of day care but PVCC was not obligated to put him the on the Dean's list or find another paid group of Galpals for him.

 

[Holdek]

Also, this shit here hits me right in the feels..

 

[Jewelsmakerguy]

Bob survived Korea, managing to avoid dying face down in a ditch eaten by bugs, only to make it back to the U.S., where he ended up buried in garbage and eaten by bugs in his own bed.

A fate that, in all reality, no one deserves. Much less Bob.

As for the "other children" argument, it's possible Bob may have been a better parent with them, but I'm not too sure either, given how little (read: none) information we have on them. We know he and Cole never got along, and his relationship with Chris wasn't much better. So really, as I said in my previous post, he wasn't all that better off. And I think it stemmed from both sides of the matter- Chris being Chris, and Bob being both too old to have any more children, and probably being unprepared to actually know how to raise a son with the 'tism.