Darth Vader’s online course about how to turn your small company into an Empire was most impressive, but let’s face it, the Sith Lord wasn’t exactly the greatest father in the galaxy far, far away. So if you need a lesson on raising your kids and being the best parent you can be, we recommend you turn instead to Stranger Things‘ Joyce Byers: a single mom who raised two polite young boys and kept them off drugs and away from the jowls of a demogorgon.
Nerdist Presents is proud to sponsor the latest course from the online school Mastermind, where mother-of-two Joyce Byers offers insights into important childrearing topics like: constantly asking where your son is, communicating with him via Christmas lights, physically shaking monsters loose from his head, and always yelling in sheer confusion.
This Hawkins mother is uniquely qualified to help guide you through the upside down world of parenting; after all, anyone can raise a son who’s confined to our Earthly plane of existence. But Joyce is among the elite few who manage to be a good mom while young Will is out traversing parallel dimensions.
…Okay, so maybe Joyce isn’t the best parent to teach a parenting course, but she’s definitely not the worst. At least she’s giving it her all, always out there trying to track down her missing or otherwise possessed son Will. We’re not even sure Mike’s dad knows he has a son.
Who would be the best (or worst) parent in pop culture to take parenting lessons from? Tell us your picks for best and worst pop culture moms and dads in the comments below.
More from the Upside Down
- Does Will Byers deserve a break?
- Natalie Portman becomes Eleven in SNL‘s Stranger Things parody
- Bad Lip Reading takes on Stranger Things
