People Share The Most Extreme Cases Of Helicopter Parenting They've Ever Encountered

From Redditor u/thePancakeAngel:

I was home-educated until I was 16 years old, but there were these sort of meet-up groups for home-educated kids in the area a couple of times a week. 

Anyway, there were these twins, Mark and Meera, who like me, were 12. I was trying to light a candle in this hall because why not, and [I] was doing this with a lighter. It became quickly evident that Mark and Meera had never seen nor even heard of a lighter before. I let them see it and have a go with it, after which they promptly ran to their mum to tell her all about this exciting technological development called a lighter. 

She was furious, grounded both of them, and tried to get my mum to punish me.

TL; DR: Two kids went 12 years without even knowing a lighter was a thing that existed because of their mum's protectiveness.

From Redditor u/SteelyDanny:

My aunt won't let her kids open their own soda cans because she thinks they'll cut their fingers off. 

Which was fine when they were young, but they're 15 and 18 now

From Redditor u/notalife:

My first roommate in college was extremely coddled by his mother (or at least I thought so). His home was about an hour away from campus, and she came up every day to get his laundry, make his bed, [and] clean his side of the room. 

They were both neat freaks, and I wasn't a slob by any means, but I wasn't quite as neat as either [of] them would have liked. What ended up happening [was] I would come back from class and find her making my bed, organizing my desk, and picking up my dirty clothes. 

Didn't really appreciate that, but I didn't want to make waves, so I just kept my mouth shut. Finally it got really weird when I came back to the room after a class had gotten canceled and they were BOTH in the same twin bed. He was sleeping and she was stroking his hair/face and singing him a lullaby.

From Redditor u/cerem86:

I was interviewing a guy for a technician job. Resume said he was 22, just out of technical college with a few certificates but no degrees. Cool beans, we weren't sticklers about scraps of paper so long as you know computers.

I check everything out, call his last employer, which was the school he went to. Reference is... interesting. I was told he was smart and learned fast, but his dad was a pain. Found that odd. Call the kid up. A man rather older than 22 answers. I ask for Nathan and get told, "This is his father. I can help."

"I'm calling for the resume he put in with Computer Hell. Need to ask him some questions."

"I can answer them."

"Uh... no. I need him to answer them so I can verify what he knows."

"I know what he knows. Just ask."

This goes on for a minute more before I say, "Have Nathan call me back when he's available," and hang up. Kid himself calls back, we chat, he seems to know his stuff, so I set up an interview for the following day after lunch.

Interview time comes, and in walks a young man and an old man. Nathan and his dad. Who tries to sit in on the interview. I look right at the kid and bluntly ask, "Do you have your own car?" He nods. I ask him about his times available, and his dad chimes in to answer. I cut him off. "I'm asking your son. Please go sit at the front of the office until we're done."

The dad hems and haws but goes up front. Nathan seems to be a good fit, but his dad is, indeed, annoying. I told him to show up the next Monday at 8 am, [and] he would have a week probationary period during which time he'll be paid minimum wage while I determine if we can use him.

Monday rolls around, Nathan and his dad come in. And both head for the back. 

"What are you doing?"

"I figured I can sit here and keep you two company."

"No. No you cannot."

I finally convince his dad to GTFO. Nathan is picking things up fast. Next day, both come in and the dad walks up to me. "I'm insisting you let me stay here. My son needs me around. He told me last night that you were going too fast for him to keep up."

I looked at Nathan, who just looked down at the floor. "Well, unfortunately, it doesn't seem we can use you."

"Why the hell aren't you keeping my son on?!"

"Because he needs to grow the hell up first. I was looking to hire him, I do not want the baggage he comes with, namely you. Now leave."

From Redditor u/rivolta:

My cousin wasn't allowed to watch The Little Mermaid because of the “nude scene.”

From a Redditor:

I went to high school with a guy who's parents had a camera installed in his room that fed into a TV screen in their bedroom.

When he told me, I assumed it was one of those things they used when he was a baby then disabled when he was older. Nope, according to him they still kept it on 24/7, even though he was like 17 years old. I'd never been so creeped out.