Haley Dunphy is here to babysit

In her teenage years, Haley is portrayed as ditzy, irresponsible, rebellious, and careless. She is very popular in high school due to her social skills and good looks, but struggles academically. She instead puts most of her energy into having fun. She sneaks out to parties or concerts, breaks curfews, and drinks while underage. One recurring theme is that Haley takes after Claire when she was a teenager, both describing their mothers as "psycho control freaks" ("Earthquake").

Haley is slow on the uptake, often needing time to understand things that other people, especially Alex, get immediately. Her family often mocks her for her lack of intelligence, and this becomes a major point of insecurity for her. ("Party Crasher").

However, Haley is very street-smart. She is cunning, occasionally manipulating her parents and the people around her for her own benefit as well as other’s ("Suddenly, Last Summer"). She is confident and bold; she knows what she wants and goes after it. She surprises everyone with her creativity and how business savvy she is when she shows them the successful blog she runs ("Three Dinners").

Haley gradually matures and begins to take responsibility for her own actions, think seriously about her future, and takes care of her family, occasionally sharing unexpected pieces of wisdom. ("Queer Eyes, Full Hearts", "Do Not Push"). She has many love interests throughout the series, most notably Dylan Marshall and Andy Bailey