Howard and Harold McBride

**Howard and Harold McBride** are a pair of supporting characters from The Loud House. They are a pair of two gay dads who adopted Clyde McBride who serve as foils to Lincoln's parents.

## Why They're Good Dads

1. These guys are the first married gay couple to appear in a Nick cartoon. But here's the catch as they are portrayed in a non-SJW or stereotypical way as they are more than just being a couple.
2. They are good parents to Clyde as they are easily likable and overprotective. For example, the episode Kick the Bucket List had Clyde trimming down the list of activities he planned to do with Lincoln over spring break resulting in distractions that would make the dads continually save Clyde. Snow Way Down is another example of the parents being good.
3. Despite the characters being gay, they can be relatable to parents. Even if the parents who like the show they come from are not gay. In other words, you don't need to be gay to like them. It's all thanks to the writing.
4. They got a running gag that has both dads containing this impractically large and ever-expanding repertoire of hobbies and former jobs. What's funny about it would have to do with any skill set that is required by an episode's plot demands.
	* They got some laughs too such as the scene in 11 Louds a Leapin where Mr. Grouse befriends Lincoln only for Harold (who is much calmer than Howard) try not to cry only to start going into tears and admitting that it's the most beautiful thing he has seen.
5. Both dads got their personalities that would be different from each other rather than being a complete clone. So it's good to give them a personality that viewers can identify with regardless of the viewers are kids or not.
	* Howard is pretty overdramatic, but he's pretty cautious as he believes that he can protect Clyde at all times and never lets him out of sight. Well, that is unless if he is with Lincoln or at school so that's a relatable reason.
	* Harold is more of the level-headed and collected man compared to Howard. All he does is be concerned about Clyde's safety and health above everything else.
6. Compared to some (if not all) LGBT characters, the dads are more significant and reasonable to be in the show they come from. You see, in early episodes of The Loud House, the dads are only mentioned by Clyde but both get to shine on some episodes with their first physical appearance being Overnight Success.
7. They are Clyde's parents, but they're both nice guys who get easily get along. They would treat Lincoln Loud like one of their own while extending the courtesy to other of the Loud siblings even if it taxes them.
8. They may possess some differences that do clash their characterizations, but they still love each other as two dads and that's the bottom line. End of story.

## Bad Qualities

1. Despite all this, they resulted in some controversy for the series even if they're still pretty likable.
2. While they're on good terms with The Loud family, they once knew that having all 11 children come at once was overwhelming. In fact, Howard can feel overwhelmed by Lincoln's family.
3. Howard worries too much. Even if he has a good reason too since he's a dad.
4. Harold often mistakes Lincoln's comments for jokes due to having a completely different life experience in comparison to Lincoln.

## Trivia

* The colors and styles of clothing that the Loud and McBride parents wear correspond with each other. Howard and Rita both wear red button-up shirts with collars and rolled-up sleeves.
* Howard's name means "high guardian" or "braveheart"
* Harold's name means "army ruler"
* The creator Chris Savino wanted the characters to be gay because "The Loud House is about family and we decided very early that we would try to represent all kinds of modern family."
* Despite being gay, Howard and Harold's sexual orientation is intentionally never mentioned on the program, and they are portrayed as any other couple would be. They do not exhibit stereotypical mannerisms of gay men, such as exaggerated effeminacy and flamboyance.