Character Analysis
Okay, Georgia's mum and dad are two separate people, but since Dad clocks out pretty early on in this book to find a career in New Zealand, we're going to let these two stick together for the purpose of their character analyses. See? We're such romantics.
Oh and hey—sometimes Georgia calls her parents Mutti and Vati, though we have absolutely no clue why. We do know this, though: These nicknames, if you will, are German for mom and dad.
Parenting Apart
Georgia's dad plans to travel to New Zealand to look for a job, which seems to cause some turmoil between her parental units, though they keep it behind closed doors:
Heard Mutti and Vati arguing. Oh perfect, now they'll split up and they'll both want custody of me. (4.468)
Georgia's way ahead of herself here—all that's happening is a little standard tension over a major life decision. Her parents totally love each other. But you don't have to take our word for it; look at them in action for yourself: "I saw Dad put his arms round Mum in the kitchen. Also Libby was singing, 'Dingle balls, dingle balls, dingle on the way,' and Dad got all sort of wet round the eyes" (5.538). It's clear that not only do Georgia's parents love each other here, they love their kids, too. This is a tender little family moment shortly before Dad leaves.
Once Dad's gone, everybody handles missing him in their own ways. Mum misses him so terribly that she even confides her feelings with Georgia, saying, "Look love, I really, really miss your dad" (12.1093). The extra "really" in there lets us know she really means it. Dad is only brought up a few times while he's gone, but every time is pretty emotional; at one point, Georgia is brought to tears when he calls.
Parenting in Person
Georgia's parents are often the targets of her mostly unjustifiable judgment. She insults how they dress and claims they just don't understand, but so it often goes when raising a teenager. Though Georgia's generally mortified by them, they aren't terrible people in the least.
This doesn't mean they let Georgia off easy, though. For instance, when Georgia teases her dad about his Masonic apron, "He went ballistic and said I shouldn't be prying through his drawers" (2.160). Which, to be honest, is a totally legit response to your kid digging through your stuff. Again, though they drive Georgia nuts, we see that her parents are really pretty ordinary.
There's something important to note about Mum, though. You know how Georgia's pretty insecure about her looks and body and constantly seeking external validation? (You don't? Swing by her page elsewhere in this section, then.) Well, it looks like Mum is at least part of where this comes from. Check it:
I shared my nose anxiety with Mum. She said "We used to use 'shaders'… you could put a light line of foundation down the middle and then darker bits at the sides to narrow it down." (2.209)
What's that, Georgia? You're worried about your nose? Oh, well you totally should be! Here's how I used to hide mine… Needless to say, while this may be totally usable make-up advice, it's not really the comfort Georgia is seeking, nor does it do anything to deter her from placing so much of her value in how she looks. We wish Mum would tell her she's beautiful inside and out, helping her daughter establish her worth in something like her mad tennis skills instead of her nose, but alas, it just isn't so.