25 TV Dads we wish were ours
By Sundi Rose
Photo: CBS/Ed Friendly
Charles Ingalls – Little House On The Prairie
The Ingalls family had a hard knock life. In fact, everybody on Little House On The Prairie had to fight hard to survive – the western expansion wasn’t for sissies. Without Charles Ingalls, his wife, Carolyn, and their two girls, Laura and Beth, would not only have perished in the Northern wilderness, but they wouldn’t have anyone putting their arms around them and telling them to, “chin up.”
Charles is equal parts soft and firm. He was a devoted husband to Carolyn, supportive of her when she wanted to go back to work, and a caring and present dad. But he also knew how to brave a storm like a champ, and when anybody got sick or hurt, he was the one you turned to, when you needed the hard thing done. And when you live on the prairie, a lot of hard stuff needs to be done.
He was fair in business, but he also didn’t take any nonsense from anyone. The Olesons were the town villains, and even though they went out of their way to terrorize everyone, Charles Ingalls always stood up for his family, and protected them from everything from blizzards to school yard bullies.