Phil Dunphy is one of the kindest, funniest and most adorkable dads to ever grace a sitcom with his quirkiness and crazy inventions. In a show filled with cynical, neurotic characters, Phil’s unceasing sunniness can almost seem the most unrealistic thing of all.
But thanks to Ty Burrell’s grounded, sensitive approach to the character, Phil goes from being a stereotypical trying-to-be-cool dad to a three-dimensional character. Even while having his kid’s best interests at heart, Phil is not always the perfect parent. Here are 10 examples of Phil the dad at his best and at his worst.
Best: Sharing in his Children’s Interests
Phil was always a very hands-on parent, listening to the same music as his kids, watching the same movies and taking an active interest in their school lives, so much so that he was generally better in tune with his children’s feelings than their mom Claire.
In fact, for the longest time, Phil was the best friend that his youngest son Luke had, and his sisters Haley and Alex never hesitated to come to Phil for help knowing he would be much more understanding and agreeable than their mother.
Worst: Not Believing his Children
During one Christmas eve, Phil noticed what appeared to be a cigarette burn on the couch. This kicked his ‘Outraged parent’ mode into overdrive at the thought of one of his children smoking. For the rest of the episode, Phil raged at his children, canceled Christmas celebrations, and refused to believe them when they said that none of them had caused the burn on the couch.
Ultimately, it turned out the burn was a result of a different accident, and Phil had to shamefacedly admit that he had been wrong in accusing his children so quickly and not believing their claims of innocence.
Best: Writing on the moon for Alex
Phil and Alex have probably the least close relationship among his children because of his daughter’s intellectual pursuits which often leave Phil feeling lost and confused. But that doesn’t mean Phil doesn’t love his daughter.
He was desperate to have a close moment with Alex so she would have fond memories of her father, and with that in mind, he took her out for a whole day of bonding. After confessing how important his relationship with Alex was to him, Phil topped off the heartfelt evening by scrawling her initials on a picture of the moon over the diner as a token of love towards his youngest child.
Worst: Forcing Luke to Learn Magic
Phil is deeply interested in the world of amateur magic, and when he found out his son was a natural fit for the craft, he was thrilled. He also immediately turned into a bossy parent, forcing Luke to practice his tricks again and again, even though he clearly indicated he was not interested in pursuing the hobby.
It took an entire episode for Phil to realize he was acting like a bad parent in foisting his own dreams onto his son.
Best: Standing up to Haley’s Bad Boyfriend
Haley has dated a string of bad boyfriends, and one of them was a much older and thoroughly unsuitable guy. Haley only dated him to get a rise out of Phil, who she thought no longer loved her after she got kicked out of college.
Phil, however, after trying to play it cool on the advice of Claire, finally could not help himself, and declared, with Haley listening in the background, that he was going to break up her relationship with her new boyfriend because the man was not good enough for his baby girl. Haley was reduced to grateful tears by his outburst.
Worst: Implying Haley is Dumb
During an argument with Claire about Phil buying all the latest fancy gadgets for their homes, Phil took on a challenge to explain how to use a remote to their dumbest child, who they both agreed was Haley.
Phil worked long and hard to teach Haley to use the remote, but at the end of it, he let slip his low opinion of Haley’s intellect in her presence. You could clearly see the confusion and hurt that was apparent on Haley’s face upon realizing her own father thought her to be stupid.
Best: Taking repeated basketball shots to the face
One time Luke hit upon the idea of making a viral video where he bounces a basketball off of Phil’s face into the basket.
Despite needing to get some urgent work done, Phil stood in their backyard court for a long time, allowing his son to smash the basketball repeatedly into his face to make the video, simply because he wanted to spend more time with his son than his father had spent with him.
Worst: Promising Haley a Car
In another one of Phil’s misguided ideas, he tried to teach Haley a lesson about going without technology longer than him, promising if she beat him she would get a car.
Haley actually used her brains to win the bet, which is when Phil revealed that he had no intention of following through on his rash promise and actually buying his daughter her own car. Even Phil and Claire admitted to Haley while breaking the news to her that this was simply a case of bad parenting on their part.
Best: Making Haley Realize her mistakes
After Haley was caught and jailed in college, Phil, Claire, and Mitchell came to sort out the mess. There they found an unrepentant Haley who blamed everyone else for her mistakes.
Finally, Phil snapped and tore into Haley, spelling out everything she had done wrong and making her realize her current predicament was her own fault. It was one of the very few times Phil was the stern parent and actually managed to make it work and help his child.
Worst: Swapping with Claire as the Stern Parent
One time, Phil had to be the stern parent in place of Claire for a whole day, and it brought out the worst aspects of his nature, turning him into a scary dude who Haley and Alex were terrified of.
Phil made them scrub the toilet for hours, taped up their laptops, refused to feed them, and in general came very near child abuse until Claire finally arrived and took the pressure of being the stern one off his shoulders, something he was only too grateful to do.
