"We Weren't Allowed To Even Look At The Baby": 15 Helicopter Parents Who Will Make Your Jaws Drop

Parenting is a hard job, and these days parents are generally more involved in their kids' lives than they used to be, and that's a good thing. But some parents — the dreaded helicopter parents — take things too far. And in some instances, way, way, waaaaaay too far.

Over on Quora, people have been discussing the most over-the-top helicopter parents they've ever encountered in their lives, and may I just say...wow. Here's what they had to say:

(Entries have been edited for length and clarity.)

1."When my sister had her first baby, she was over the moon, which is reasonable. My mom told me that all new moms are allowed around six weeks of new parent mania, meaning that you shouldn't scrutinize too much, as they are still trying to figure this parenting thing out. It seems fair. So, for the first few months, we let a lot of weird behaviors slide, like not being allowed to hold the baby, make direct eye contact, be too loud, or sneeze. These rules also applied to her husband. These rules only got more strict as the kid grew older."

2."My ex-sister-in-law moved from Texas to Virginia to follow her daughter to college. She and her husband pulled up roots, gave up their home, and moved into an extended-stay motel while their daughter lived on campus."

—Layne B., Quora

3."I was the manager of a large clinic laboratory and had a job opening. I was told one of the candidates had arrived to be interviewed, so I went to meet them at the door only to see that candidate with their mother right behind — and the mother intended to be a part of the interview. I let both of them know right away that A. There would be no interview, B. I did not hire people who had mother baggage. I needed people who were independent functioning adults, and C. When we arranged the interview, it was for one person, not two, and while I appreciated their time, I could only supervise one employee at a time."

4."My first marriage (back in the '70s) was dominated by a helicopter parent — my mother-in-law. She brought hairspray to our wedding and sprayed her grown son's hair because she 'wanted to see his eyes.'"

"That wasn't even the worst. After we were married, she insisted that he stop by her house every morning on his way to work to 'kiss her goodbye.' She blamed me for his refusal. It never stopped. She meddled in everything. He was a huge 'mama's boy.' He died just over a year after she died. He literally couldn't live without her."

—CJ R., Quora

5."I watched a neighbor follow behind his 15-year-old daughter as she walked around the block with the only friend she was allowed to have over. We lived in a very safe suburban subdivision. It wouldn’t have taken more than 10 minutes to walk around the block, and all the neighbors were out in their yards. I later heard she was able to attend her prom...with Dad as chaperone."

6."My sister and her husband have two young kids. Both have been raised to depend solely on their mom, which means they cannot operate without her. She doesn't leave them with a babysitter or grandparents because, well, they can't be left alone. They can't even be taken to a restaurant because they haven't really ever learned how to behave in public and will typically throw food. What's worse is that they have no idea how to interact with other kids. They go on walks and to playgrounds, but she refuses to let them talk to other kids. They can only go on the slide if she helps them up and my brother-in-law catches them on the way down."

"She and my BIL also have yet to let them watch TV or movies. The eldest loves characters from the movie Cars but hasn't seen more than 10 minutes of the movie because 'he just was too worried with questions.' Also, forget talking about anything other than birds and butterflies around them. Anything else is too violent, and I will get a lecture from my sis.

Oh, and don't even think about being excited around them. When our mom talked to the eldest on the phone about how excited she was to visit them in a few weeks, my sister stepped in and scolded her for making him 'too excited.' Whatever that meant.

Eating is hysterical with them, actually. When they eat anything, my BIL asks them non-stop for the next 15 minutes, 'How is your tummy? Are you okay? Does your tummy hurt?' Now, if there was a reason to ask, sure! But there isn't. The kid just ate a cup of grapes, and no — his tummy isn't hurting. My BIL seems to like to start the hypochondria early!

The most amusing thing is that their kids are always 'special.' Now, all kids are special, but their kids are EXTRA special. For example, the eldest has been groomed to memorize simple addition and subtraction. That's fantastic, but does it really deserve two hours of constant praise?

It should come as no shock to anyone that she's homeschooling both kids. I have nothing against homeschooling, but these kids need some social interaction, at the very least! Geesh.

We see them a few times a year, and I'm sure you can imagine how fun it is to get together! The eldest can't even stand being touched by anyone other than his mom, so no tickle fights or even hugs. Fun times."

—Anonymous

7."It was a 3-year-old's first day of preschool. He cried a little when his mom left, and we distracted him. He was fine and did better than most kids on their first day at preschool. The mom arrives at pick-up time and asks how the day went. I cheerfully told her he cried for about ten minutes, and then he was fine, which was the truth. The mom goes batshit on me. 'He CRIED??? He cried, and you didn't CALL me??? How can I ever TRUST you again???' She sat down on the floor and wept. Called her mom. Called her therapist. And then pulled him from the school."

8."When I was 15, I invited my friend Jared to come over to play some video games. He told me he'd love to come but that my parents would need to call his parents first. I thought this was a little strange. He had a phone... couldn't he just text them that he was coming to my house? Anyway, I had my mom call, and she said it felt like she was being interrogated for murder. 'Where do you live? What's the house phone number? Is the area brightly lit? Are there any suspicious people nearby? Will the boys be staying indoors or outdoors? Will they be leaving your home to go somewhere else at any time? What video games will they be playing? What's the rating? Is there excessive violence or explicit language? etc.' Eventually, they agreed that Jared could come over."

"So the next day after school, Jared arrives at my house with his dad who introduces himself and says, 'I am handing Jared over to you for the evening, you are responsible for his safety.' HE THEN PULLS OUT A TWO-PAGE CONTRACT and asks my mom to sign it. My mom was way too creeped out at this point and said, 'I think it would be best if David and Jared just hang out at school. Have a good night.'The next day, Jared apologized to me and told me his parents are very overprotective. We stayed friends at school, but eventually, I went away for college, and we lost contact. I sometimes wonder how things turned out for him."

—Dave, Quora

9."As an airport worker, I have seen all kinds of things. One day, a man in his 40s arrived at my counter, too late to catch his flight. I refused to check him in and explained the reasoning behind it. His checked baggage had to go on the flight with him, and unfortunately, it would be too late for his bag to travel the system and make the flight. I gave him some options, but he wanted this flight. At any rate, this grown man had a bit of a meltdown. He just couldn't grasp the concept and I wasn't budging … as it is the law. So he pulled out his phone, called his mom, and told me to explain it to her. I did. She couldn't understand it either, so I explained to both of them that they could discuss next steps by themselves because I had a lineup of people who were on time and I didn't want them to miss their flights too. We were done. I wonder if his mother grounded him…after I did."

10."I used to do a lot of babysitting when a woman whose child went to an exclusive private school asked me to sit. She was obsessed with keeping her 'Little Paulie' protected from everything. Every time I went there, she interrogated me as to whether I had any type of illness or had been around anyone who had. She also had a two-page, single-spaced list of do's and don'ts. After sitting for him twice, I told her I would no longer be available. A few weeks later, she asked me if I would reconsider because — inexplicably (!) — she couldn't find anyone else to sit. Middle school comes around, and I hear from other parents at the school that no one wants to hang out with 'Little Paulie,' so his mother has been offering to pay other parents to make their sons hang out with her little darling."

—Star M., Quora

11."My friend was at a party with a piñata. The kids were all lined up by size, with the smallest ones near the front. When the piñata finally started to break, and candy began to fall out, one of the MOMS dashed out of the crowd of parents and started grabbing candy off the ground! My friend said, 'What the hell are you doing?' And the mom said, 'I'm making sure my kids get the most candy!' What a world, what a world."

12."My husband has a cousin who was raised by helicopter parents. Sad, sad tale. She was brilliant! They put all their time and attention into their beautiful daughter since the DAY she was born! She could walk early, talk early, and poop in the toilet early. Later, she got straight A's throughout school. As a teen, she was told to ignore boys because they were only after one thing (she complied, as she had since birth). She never had a date and, to this day, has never been kissed. And she never had any girlfriends or associates. She then went to a great college and got a great education! After college, she lived with her parents, and her dad drove her to and from work for her entire life. She lived in a bubble of protection created by her parents."

"She was a lovely person who was sweet, kind, soft-spoken, and gracious.

She got a job teaching at a well-known university and was so brilliant in math that she wrote textbooks and invented math formulas!

THEN THE CRASH: Mom and Dad got old and died. Mom went first.

My husband's cousin wouldn't let anything in her room be touched, down to the dirty panties on the floor. She began sleeping in her mother's bed.

Soon after, Dad died. Their beautiful home went into complete disrepair.

She broke ALL the family china and whatever else she could grab that represented her happy past life.

She started sleeping in the car. She stopped bathing. All she wore was black.

She started begging for money from people outside the local grocery store.

They tried to fire her from her job because she came to work looking like a smelly bag lady. However, they could not because she had tenure.

It's been years since her parents died, and she is still 'not right.'

If there is a lesson to learn: DO NOT DO THIS TO YOUR CHILDREN!"

—Laurie H., Quora

13."I was astounded to find out that my sister-in-law uses a cell phone tracking device to monitor the movements of her two adult sons. They are both at university — one is 24 years and getting his Honours Degree, and yet every movement is still tracked. The younger brother is 21. When she notices they've stopped at places they did not mention they were going to, she gets on the phone to find out what's happening."

14."A 6th-grade student at the school I work at is walked into the school daily by his mother, who then assists him in getting his school breakfast, sits down, and basically hand-feeds it to him. She then walks him to the counselor’s office, where the drama begins. This young man does have anxiety issues and some minor educational disabilities, but his biggest issue is his mother. He has a hard time just getting into the classroom. Once he is in the classroom, he’s okay. The longer she hangs around and stays with him, the more anxious and riled up he gets. She holds him on her lap and tells him that he is making HER upset, and she cries and cries."

"He would be just fine if she would put him on the bus and let him get to school. He has proven this to us. She feeds off his anxiety and makes it much, much worse. Poor kid. She doesn’t understand that she is part of the problem and insists she is the only one who can calm him."

—Debra A., Quora

15."As a university instructor, I once got a call at 1:00 a.m. at home from the parent of a college senior who wanted to complain about a grade I had given her 22-year-old daughter on an assignment. I asked her if her daughter was in the hospital or dead because surely that would be the only reason for her to call me."

16."At my job, a new employee was texting on his phone. The boss said, 'No, you can't do that at work.' The new employee replied, 'Oh, but I'm not texting on my work computer. This is my own phone.' The boss just said, 'Put the phone away! You are supposed to be working!' The offended employee approached the boss a few minutes later, phone in hand, and announced that the boss has a call. The boss takes the phone, and it's the new employee's mother! Blasting the mean man who won't let sonny text at work!"

—Mary K., Quora