That is how I learned too, however I believe the point of parent was that you can memorize it as "opposite over hypotenuse" and "base/adjacent over hypotenuse"

That is how I learned too, however I believe the point of parent was that you can memorize it as "opposite over hypotenuse" and "base/adjacent over hypotenuse" OR you can have a realization that they are constant ratios in a right angled triangle. It's subtle, but I think it's a very valid point since I too never thought it in terms of ratio, merely in terms of here's the angle, this is what you need to find, you apply sin/cos/tan and get the answer.