Lorelai and Rory are clearly the mother-daughter pair that leap to mind when thinking about parenting in Gilmore Girls - and with good reason. These two are as much friends as they are parent and child, and they have an enviably close and fun relationship built on trust and respect. However, they are far from the only wholesome family in the series.
Lorelai's relationship with her own parents is also front and center in the show, while Rory's friends and boyfriends have their own struggles - whether that is Lane and her super-strict mother, or Jess and his unique dynamic with Luke. Throughout the show, there are some great parenting lessons to be learned, and some heartwarming parenting scenes that fans still love.
Emily Trying To Buy Lorelai A House
Emily and Lorelai have a complicated relationship, and watching them reconnect and figure each other out is one of the most touching parts of the show - and this scene is one of the best examples. Lorelai has been driving her mother around after an eye surgery, and they end up looking at houses at an agency, which Lorelai doesn't understand. At first, she is worried her mother might want to move to Stars Hollow herself, but it turns out that she actually wants to buy Luke and Lorelai a house. It's beautiful seeing her try so hard to support her daughter, and seeing her reaction with Lorelai tells her that it (the wedding) isn't going to happen.
Christopher Figuring Out Gigi Is A Brat
After Sherry leaves him, Christopher has some struggles bringing up Gigi alone - and often turns to Lorelai for help. However, as Gigi gets older, Lorelai ends up having to break some bad news to her ex: Gigi is actually a bit of a brat, and he needs to shape up as a father. It's tough to watch him get angry and defensive when she first tries to speak to him, but seeing him actually take that advice, start being more of a parent, and eventually managing to find a way to give Gigi some boundaries is amazing.
Luke And Jess And Employee Of The Month
Luke may not technically be Jess's parent, as he's his uncle, but he does more parenting than anyone else in Jess's life, and everyone knows it. Most of their interactions, though, are focused on Luke struggling to try and guide Jess onto a healthy path in life. There's a lot of conflict, and not a lot of space for wholesomeness... except when Luke realizes that Jess isn't sneaking out to do terrible teenage things, but because he has a job, is reliable, is saving money, and is even employee of the month. Luke looks like he might just burst with pride.
Christopher And Rory At The Debutante Ball
Christopher hasn't been around for most of Rory's life, so a lot of Gilmore Girls involves the two of them trying to build a new relationship as father and daughter.
It has its ups and downs, but a definite up comes when Rory decides that she wants to do the whole debutante ball thing, and Christopher attends to support her (in the traditional father role). It's adorable to see them have this sweet father/daughter moment together, even if it's not all positive from here on out.
Luke's Birthday Party For April
In later seasons, Luke learns that he is actually a father - after April comes to snag some DNA of his for a science fair experiment. He definitely struggles to figure out what his role is in her life, and it's sweet watching him try... especially when he tries to throw her a birthday party. He has absolutely no idea what he is doing, but thankfully, Lorelai is able to step up to help (and given that she and Luke end up together, this is a sweet moment for her and her step daughter, as much as it is for April and Luke).
Lane's Wedding
Lane's wedding brings the Kim family dynamic front and center, and it's a fantastic episode - especially as it shows how Lane is a lot more like her mother than she thinks! The wedding is actually a three-parter: first, Lane's Buddhist grandmother gets a Buddhist ceremony, then Lane's mother (who has been hiding her faith from her mother) gets a Christian ceremony, then Lane (who used to hide her own lifestyle from her mother) gets a rock'n'roll party at the end. It's a great set of parallels between generations.
Emily At Lorelai's Graduation
One of Lorelai's biggest insecurities around her mother is that she thinks Emily is never proud of her, and is always disappointed in her for being a teenage mother. But when Lorelai graduates from business school, and her mother comes to the graduation, it's incredibly touching to see how much of a big deal she makes of it. In her own way, Emily's need for a videographer and a huge level of ceremony is her showing Lorelai that she is proud - and Lorelai knows it, as she tears up in her cap and gown.
Richard And Rory Pranking Logan
Richard and Rory may not have a technical 'parenting' dynamic, as grandfather and grandaughter, but they still have an amazing moment that fits the bill, when Rory gets her grandfather to help her prank Logan.
At the start of their connection, Logan embarrassed Rory by bursting into her class with his friends and essentially declaring love in an over the top way, as a joke. Rory and Richard get him back, though, as she enlists her grandfather to terrify him by very seriously asking his 'intentions'. Seeing this kind of fun connection between them is wonderful.
Luke Breaking Through The Wall
Luke often struggles with how to talk to Jess, and swings between being too strict (threatening to kick Jess out) to too lenient (allowing him to smoke in the apartment). However, one of his best moments is when he finds just the right tone - when he smashes down a wall! His apartment has become too crowded with Jess there, so he takes over the space next door, and then strides in, grabs a sledgehammer, and smashes through - before handing it to Jess and telling him to finish up, because that will be his room. It's a perfect mix of authority and equality, and everyone (especially Jess) is amazed.
Lorelai Suggesting Friday Night Dinner
This moment is more like parenting in reverse, as it is Lorelai who helps guide her mother through a difficult moment, when Rory is finished with Yale, and Emily is assuming this means that she won't be seeing her daughter any more. For a long time, Lorelai cut her parents off completely, and then made it clear that she only attended Friday Night Dinner for Rory's sake. So when she gently lets her mother know that she's still going to be coming on Fridays, even with no financial obligation, it's an incredibly sweet moment for the two of them. It's the moment that they both realize that their relationship has been repaired.