It is normal for a parent to be protective of their children. As a parent, the children’s safety is a top priority. But when you go overboard to the point where the kid doesn’t experience his/her normal childhood, that’s where you cross the line.
These stories of psycho-overprotective parenting will surely shock you. You will doubt the parents’ true intentions for their child’s safety and well-being. Come check these out!
1. Intriguing Dormitory Dilemma
When I was doing freshman orientation years ago at college, the tour guide told a story when we got to the dorms.
The head RA for a freshman dorm got a knock on her office door about two-ish months into the first semester, right before midterms.
A girl walked in and asked what was the longest amount of time guests were allowed to stay in the room.
The RA told her (can't remember the amount of days) and the girl says that her roommate's mother had been living in the room since move-in weekend. Holy crap. No.
Sweetrhymepurereason
2. A High Schooler’s Constant Watch
I went to high school with a guy whose parents had a camera installed in his room to monitor him, that fed into a television screen in their bedroom.
When he told me, I assumed it was one of those things they used when he was a baby and 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.
[deleted]
3. The Talk That Never Happened
There was this girl in my health class in high school who seemed to have not gotten “the talk” either. Our teacher was giving us a very basic description of physical intimacy, and she was visibly shocked.
She was in the same grade as my sister, and my sister said that in middle school health, they had to draw diagrams of both the male and female reproductive systems.
The girl's mom marched into school and told the teacher she wouldn't let her daughters (the girl has a twin sister) do the assignment, and I guess since they've gotten rid of the whole assignment.
TTHtv
4. Strict Sugar Rules
A girl at school wasn't allowed any sugar, no sweets, not even fruit. It was weird. I invited her to a party at mine and her parents came round before the party to check our house was safe.
They asked if our gate was locked to keep people out. It wasn't fair on her, every birthday or party she'd eat tons of junk food and feel ill, and she used to crawl around the classroom pretending she was a cat. I think they broke her.
Themaddieful
5. Family BBQ drama
My wife's mother. Too many acts of lunacy to mention, but the one that sticks out was when we went to their house for a family barbeque. We were in our mid-20s.
Her mom decided to start a fight over my presence, as I wasn't “family” and thus should not be attending. My wife says "If he's not welcome, we're leaving."
Her mom says, "No you're not. You're grounded." My wife just gives her this “tilt-your-head sideways look” and says, "We're going back to our house."
BeerDrinkinGreg
6. Helicopter Parenting At Its Finest
I know someone who just moved into her college dorm a couple of weeks ago. This girl has never had a house key as her mom wouldn't allow it. If she wanted to be in the house, her Mom better be there.
Her parents also have all of her social media passwords and her mom openly states she used to go read the chat conversations. Not that bad, however, the girl has already been home one weekend and is set to come back in a few weeks.
We’re all wondering how she'll rebel once she's under the college experience.
This girl's brother, who is in middle school/maybe just started high school is worse.
He is so coddled that he freaked out when he was left in a waiting room at a doctor's office alone while his uncle went back for his appointment. The kid could not be left alone. For the record, neither kid has special needs.
ShadowSync
7. Mom’s Emergency Flight
Around the middle of my first semester of college, I lost my phone. I noticed it was missing around when I got back to my dorm. Thinking that I left it in one of my classrooms, I called it from a friend's phone.
A classmate, who lives off campus had found it. He took it home because he knew it was mine and was going to give it back next Monday during class. And that was that I would get my phone on Monday so the problem was solved.
Boy was I wrong. Because he turned off the phone after that call, my mother couldn't get a hold of me. My mom being my mom, assumed I was unalive in a crack house after doing too many illegal substances.
The lunatic took a plane and flew from Panama to D.C., just so she could make sure I was okay. Halfway across the continent just so she could ask one question.
Keep in mind, my best friend and four other high school friends were attending the same college as me, and lived in the same dorm building as me and she had all their phone numbers.
Also to make matters worse, that was not the last time she took an 8-hour flight just to make sure I was okay.
Drunk_intern
8. The Shackles Of Strict Upbringing
My wife grew up in a "quiverful" family. She was only allowed to wear ankle-length skirts, no movies, only parental-approved books (Pilgrims Progress, The bible, theology books), and no music except for classical and hymns.
To date her, I had to "court" her. That involved never being alone, her parents inviting themselves to our anniversary dinners, and siblings repeating every word that we said back to her parents.
I gave her a goodbye hug, and her mother yelled at her, calling her a bad word and a "loose woman.” When she finally gave up and ran away, they chased her to her car screaming and tried to block her in the driveway with a tractor.
[deleted]
9. Bound By Rules
A former friend of mine was told by her mother that holding hands with her boyfriend was the same thing as foreplay.
When she married the guy, her father refused to walk her down the aisle because he was made the guy hadn't courted her exactly the way he wanted, including a total lack of physical contact.
Like, they never even kissed until they were married, kept doors open so they never had privacy, etc, all voluntarily, but that wasn't good enough.
They didn't completely bend to her father's will, so funny. Those quiverful people are horrible.
fiberpunk
10. Trials Of Teenage Love
My first boyfriend in high school practically lived at our house, because my mother refused to let me go to his.
He was over every day after school and most weekends. Finally, I convinced her to let me drive myself to his house.
At this point, I had met his dad twice and his dad thought he did something to offend me/scare me off because I never came to visit them. I wanted to go hang out with him and his dad!
So I drove myself to his house, with the condition that I call my mother immediately upon arrival from their phone. The maps said it should take 8 minutes to get there.
8 minutes and 45 seconds later, I get an enraged phone call from my mom. I was just walking in the door, and I hadn't called her yet. She made me immediately return home and grounded me from my cell phone for a month.
candylumps
11. Cold Nights And Strict Parents
I had an ex-boyfriend from high school whose parents were very strict about him dating. So we always had group dates.
We weren't allowed to be alone. We went over to his house for a movie night and everyone all of a sudden left, but it was super late and my dad's place was across town.
So I called for him to pick me up, but it was going to take 45 minutes to get there. His parents made me wait outside on the porch alone in November, in Canada.
It was cold. He wasn't allowed to wait outside with me. They didn't even let me wait in the foyer with them supervising.
Androgynous_potato
12. Curfew At The Beach House
I got one! My sister once told me about this one time when she was at a beach house with her friends.
They were all over 20 years old, and they were planning to stay there for the weekend. They were going to stay up all night watching movies when midnight struck.
This one girl's phone started to ring, and it was her mother, telling her to go to sleep. Worst part? She silently stood up and went to bed. She is over twenty years old.
superman_dat_hoe
13. Struggle For Freedom
I had a 9 pm bedtime at 17. I had to get up at 8 am the next day. So for 11 hours a day, I was supposed to be in bed asleep. It drove me nuts. Getting up early was also a big no-no because I woke her up.
I wasn't allowed to leave my room for anything either. It was hell. It took months of her screaming at me and me talking as calmly as I could.
She would hit, scream, and trash my room and my schoolwork before she would let me stay up as long as I wanted. The school ended up getting involved.
I went from an A student to a D in a matter of months because I just couldn't get all my work done. I worked on the weekends and was training four nights a week as well.
It made getting all my work done difficult when after school I was supposed to clean the house, eat dinner then go straight to training.
Zank
14. Helicopter Mom’s Last Hover
I work security at a college so I've seen my fair share. This wasn't so much overprotective as it was babying. I once had a mother call our office.
She said, “Hello, can you please go tell my son's professor that he won't be in class today? He doesn't feel well.” Then I replied, “Where is your son?”
Then she answered that his son was in his dorm. I answered, “Ma'am I don't know who your son's professor is, and even if I did, it's his responsibility to get in touch with them. Not mine or yours”
Then she responded, “Oh I know but he called me and asked me to call him out of class.” I then replied, “He's in college now. He's 18.”
I added, “He can do this on his own. He doesn't even need to call, he can email his professor.” She just laughed and told me I was right.
thnxbeardedpennydude
15. Christmas Card Conspiracy
I had a friend growing up whose mom refused to send out a Christmas card with her and her brother's photos on it.
The mom was convinced at the end of the season, once people threw away the cards, the garbage man or anyone rifling through the trash would see her amazing beautiful children.
She believed that they would find the address on the discarded envelope, and come abduct the kids from their home. She did many other bizarre things but that one always stuck out to me.
Notesm
16. The Paintball Escape
On my friend's 13th birthday, his big brother was taking us paintballing. We said bye to his mom. She was, in full disclosure, a severe paranoid schizophrenic who liked to go off her meds.
Anyway, we left the house and headed to Paintball. At a random gas station a good half hour away we stop for snacks.
When the older brother goes inside, the mom pulls up to a screeching halt next to us rolls down the window, and starts yelling at us to make sure the older brother spends all the money on paintball, rocking the crazy eyes the whole time.
She "leaves" by rolling around to the back of the gas station and idling there. When the older brother got back we told him what was going on. He told us to buckle up.
Sure enough, we pulled out of the gas station and she started to try tailing us. I say try because the next thing I know we're on the freeway doing at least 100 dodging from lane to lane.
We found a quick off-ramp that took us under a bridge where we hid for a few minutes to make sure we had lost her. The older brother refused to let her ruin my friend's 13th birthday. He was a good dude.
Its_the_other_tj
17. A Long Distance Worry
My former roommate's parents were extremely protective of my roommate. Once I woke up to three calls and four texts from her mom asking if my roommate was in the room. I replied, "Yes.”
Later that day my roommate explained to me that there was a girl unalived in North Carolina that fit her description and her parents wanted to make sure she was alive. We go to school over 400 miles away from N.C.
RealLifeAprilLudgate
18. Guardians Of The Figurines
My friend's mom. They're great people and I love them like a second family, but she was overprotective.
In fourth grade, his mom cut the tail off of the Nightcrawler action figure I got him for his birthday for being "demonic.” In fifth grade, she throws away the Medieval Spawn action figure I got him for being spawn.
In high school, she throws away the vintage Faster Pussycat shirt I gave him. His dad's cool though, he'd watch Beavis and Butthead with us when we were ten.
Cthulhuhoop
19. Locked In Limbo
I once dated a girl with absolutely insane parents. Throughout middle and high school, they refused to let her go out to anything but school and choir trips.
She had to argue and bargain with them for months just to be able to go to senior prom (they wouldn't let her go to junior prom). They also refused to let her get a driver's license or a car, to limit her mobility.
Even to this day, they refuse to let her go out. She, a 20-year-old woman, has to get permission from her super-restrictive mom and dad to go out for coffee at the cafe downstairs.
The worst part of all of this is that she can't move out, as they have hold of her passport, and where she lives, it's more or less impossible to get anything done without it.
Silent_Tortoise
20. Grounded Love
When I was in college I was dating a girl, and had been for some time. My dad lived in another state, and we had made plans to go visit him, so she could meet him for the first time.
The day we were supposed to leave, two hours before we left town, she got her grades from her college. They weren't as good as her parents wanted, so they grounded her.
I went to her house to try to reason with her mom (I should have bailed at that red flag, but I was "in love") and her mom was so condescending.
I explained how my dad and stepmom had made arrangements for her to be there, and how excited they were to meet her.
She wouldn't hear it. I made the mistake of saying "I understand that you're upset, but deciding this right before the trip just seems childish." I was banned from their house.
We were together for a long time after that, but I know they're still really overprotective, and she's dependent on them. She's 31, and the last time I talked to her (a few months back), she still lived with them.
Narcolepsyinc
21. Defender Of The Crib
My boss has a baby and a 4-year-old, and they are super overprotective. Like, the 4-year-old still sleeps in their bed with them and the baby, and they haven't left either kid alone with another person ever.
Sometimes he talks about how they've never been out since they were kids, and I can relate. (I have a pair myself, but we still live our lives).
The 4-year-old went to preschool, so the mom went with him and sat in the class every day, and even sat at his table and played with him instead of letting him interact with peers.
One time they were in the office and my boss hand-fed him food because he didn't want the kid handling the food himself since the kid had recently touched the computer.
Recently he was describing their garden and how the food at the back never gets picked because "we can't go back there ever, because of the baby, you know?"
No, I have no idea, you live on a small fenced lot in the suburbs, what are you afraid of getting to your baby if you walk out to the corner of your yard?
The worst part is, he's constantly telling me how tired he is, and how his kids never sleep, but it's probably because they're all sleeping in the same bed waking each other up all the time.
Both of my kids were in their room by a couple of months old and it made life so much easier, when they're in the room with you you notice every little noise.
[deleted]
22. Grade Wars
I was a teaching assistant in a general chemistry lab in college and a parent emailed me after the first lab report with an annotated copy of the graded assignment which I gave a B+.
Little Johnny had never gotten a B in a class before and I was just being unfair since it was his first semester in college. Long story short, she threatened to go to the professor, I said go ahead, and they did.
The professor was awesome. When kids complain about their grades, he offers them a regrade and then goes over the report with a fine-toothed comb. The B+ was changed to a C.
huphelmeyer
23. Grandma Dictatorship
Oh, I got one right for this one. I just can't get over how crazy this woman is.
A good friend of mine has lived with his grandparents his whole life. It's just his grandma now and her insanity turned to 11.
I've known this guy since high school. It took four years before I was allowed to go into his house because his grandma didn't like the fact I had long hair. She "didn't want a hippie in the house."
When he did leave the house, she would call around 8-9 pm and ask when he was going to be home. Well, I use "ask" loosely.
It was more like pestering him that he needed to get home. She continues to call every 30 minutes or so. There have been no repercussions from him completely ignoring this though.
When she goes out of the house, he has to go with her. I understand she may have a fear of going out alone, and that's probably bolstered a bit by her watching the news, but they live in a very, very low crime area.
There's been one shooting in the last decade, no muggings/armed robberies of people, and the only thing the cops have to respond to are people stealing from a supermarket.
His car got totaled two years ago. He still doesn't have another one because she won't let him save the money to get another one.
He always has to pay the vast majority of bills and rent, despite her being fully able to pay her share as well.
He can't just refuse because she'll eventually kick him out and that threat holds more weight now since he doesn't have a car. He's using hers to go back and forth to work.
Several years back we went on vacation and she told us not to go to a place that was on our agenda because "it was a bad area." We told her we wouldn't. Of course, we did anyway, and surprise, not a single problem at all.
Can't have any alcohol (he sneaks it in any way), has to leave the door to his room open, and has no bad language. In all honesty, she treats him like a 12-year-old. He's in his upper 20's.
[deleted]
24. Contrasting Parenting Styles
I stopped inviting my son's friend over because his mother had so many rules. He could not eat hot dogs or grapes, a choking hazard. No hamburgers at restaurants or our house because they might not be cooked through.
No playing outside without an adult present to watch. This was through 6th grade, even. I could go on, and she'd email us during the school pancake feed fundraiser.
She would tell us that she was watching and thought they probably kept the batter cold enough to prevent salmonella, so it was okay that our son ate the pancakes. That kind of thing.
The great thing is, her kid was pretty normal. In contrast, I invited another friend over for him, and they were outside monkeying around and got a kite caught in the tree.
His mom came to get him, saw it up there, scoffed at their efforts to fish it out with a rake, and ordered her son to climb up and get it.
He hesitated and she was like, “Get up there. “So he scrabbled up there like a monkey while I thought, yes, this is a normal childhood.
FeatofClay
25. Parental Power Play
My friend has to be home before 8 pm maybe 9 pm every night. He can't go out on Sundays because of church. He can't date anyone.
He can't move out because his parents would take his car, his job (family business), and his school funding, and completely cut him off.
He is 21 years old. He once told me that his parents sat him down and had a serious discussion about why his credit score was 666. Yep.
Linkinsix
26. Boundaries And Betrayals
I had moved out of my mother's house and into my dad's around freshman year when she got controlling, calling my phone every 5-10 minutes to "check up on me."
I would visit her and call her every week and stuff up until I left for Afghanistan. Even though I called her when I could which was about once every week or two she tried to control everything when I had gotten back.
I moved into a house with my friends and everyone's girlfriend and started to live a normal life. I had mentioned I was going to visit some family who live in LA.
I was planning to see some other family when I went to New York since they live on the island. So she tried to call the airlines saying that it was a fraudulent purchase. They told her to contact the bank for some reason.
So she called the bank and repeated the process, only the bank had called me to confirm since her name is not on the account any longer (she had power of attorney if anything happened to me).
So when I got home I had to go to my bank and fill out a form saying I was home and I was going to be the sole name on the account.
Fast forward a few weeks about 3 days before we left for New York I got an email from Amtrak saying my tickets were cancelled and I should have the money. So I go back online and re-order them.
She tried to say she didn't want me to go since she was afraid that I would get mugged and every other excuse you can think of.
So now I need to keep things like my school schedule and plans off of social media and I really can only bring them with my father's side of the family.
Once my mom found out, she would try to cancel them for me. I even have to lie to my mother's side of the family since she has tried to cancel plans for me with them.
Vinnaht
27. Forbidden Fantasies
I don't know about the worst, but our entertainment was so censored that we had to fast-forward through the "Poor Unfortunate Souls" song in The Little Mermaid because it was about witchcraft and sorcery.
Wait, this might qualify as one of the worst things because it meant I wasn't allowed to read the Harry Potter books growing up. I was ten when the first book came out. That would have been magical.
SmoochyTheRhino
28. Rated Restrictions
One time when I went to watch a movie with my sister and her friends. I forgot which movie it was but one of my sister's friends wasn't allowed to watch PG-13 movies or be around guys.
Her mom comes out of nowhere after the movie and demands to know what movie she saw, the lady goes insane when she knows it was PG-13, starts yelling at her, and grounds her for a week.
Then she notices I'm talking with my sister and friends, comes over to me, and asks if I also saw the movie, told her I was with my sister but I went to a videogame lounge instead. She stares at me and then storms off with her daughter.
KiloChild
29. Parental Overprotection In The Wild
Once when I worked at a local park. Most of the day we worked inside a nature center that had tanks with local animals in them. Other times we would clean up the park, teach programs/birthday parties, or help with camps.
Incident one was when this lady came in with two little kids between around 5-10. Every time they tried to look at one of the animals, she would freak out.
She would physically drag them away from the tanks saying "Don't get too close, you'll get germs!" I can't fathom what kept her in there for the ten minutes she was there, since the only things there were tanks of animals.
Incident number two was I never got too involved with the camps, but my supervisor was a major part of them. She came in one day after sending the kids home and looked like she was about to cry.
I asked her what happened, and she said that one of the dads spent almost 15 minutes saying goodbye to his kid in this huge overly emotional display that scared the kid into crying for 15 minutes after the dad left.
And then the dad came back to make sure his kid was okay. And then spent 15 minutes saying goodbye again. And then the kid cried.
This cycle repeated throughout the entire day, to the point where the dad was following them on hikes to make sure his kid was okay.
As long as the kid was "away" from his parents, he was never allowed a minute to relax and enjoy himself.
LadyParnassus
30. Sheltered And Silenced
I was homeschooled by super strict religious parents. The Internet was evil, largely because my mother didn't know how it worked. We had it for "research,” and the computer was always in the middle of the house in full view.
Most popular computer games were evil too since they involved ending lives, magic, or aggression. Video especially, though later in my teen years they became my main human interaction.
Banned from the computer for a week for speaking to people on a messaging app that my parents didn't know personally. No sleepovers, parties, or association with anyone from outside the church without my parents around.
Once I was in my teens and had my license, if I was ever somewhere I hadn't said I was going I would have to explain exactly why and what I was doing. I ran away from home before turning 18.
I didn't speak to my mother for months. We're on fairly good terms now and speak every few weeks, but to this day I make sure she never catches me doing something she doesn't approve of.
Curioustwitch
31. Curfews And Consequences
My curfews were ridiculous and I was always grounded for "getting smart" with my mother. I snuck out a few times and got caught every time because my mother would check up on me multiple times a night.
But I'm pretty sure one of the worst experiences was when I snuck out of the house and she somehow found out where I was (high school championship sports game).
She showed up there in her pajamas and slippers with her makeup running and a psychotic smile on her face and dragged me out of there in front of my classmates.
It was just painfully embarrassing. For a long time, I was known as the girl with the mom who would find out about parties and call other parents about it. It was pretty terrible.
Starrkissedsixx
32. Midnight Mishaps
My parents installed a security system that would announce which door in the house was opening, and my mother is a very light sleeper.
I remember coming home in the middle of the night and trying to sneak back in once (one time, that's all it took) and as I opened the door, I got a sharp slap in the face.
It was so dark, the hand came out of nowhere and scared the crap out of me. But lo and behold, my mother heard me unlocking the front door.
She ran down the stairs to smack me in the head over it. I moved out when I was 21, it was one of the best things I have ever done for myself.
starrkissedsixx
33. Isolation And Intervention
I had little to no social interaction all through middle and elementary school. I couldn't go to people's houses and it was a big ordeal for them to have people at mine.
Top it off with being heavily bullied throughout both, and it was awful. When I tried to tell her I was, she would just make it obvious she had said something and be embarrassed about it which resulted in more bullying.
I couldn't watch so many shows growing up because they were "violent" and "crude." Keep in mind that there were kids' shows. Made for kids. I'm super awkward and shy and have a lot of trouble making and keeping friends.
I'm just now figuring out how to act around people my age. It just sucks cause a lot of the stuff she "protected" me from I like now. I feel like I missed out on some of my childhood.
narcissalovegood
34. Tech Taboos And Triumphs
They wouldn't let me use a digital camera until I was 16 or 17. They were afraid I would break anything I touched. Originally, when there was computer trouble, it was automatically my fault.
When I finally saved money to buy my computer, my mother proceeded to fry their hard drive six more times, which required a $60 warranty replacement each time. Nobody heaped crap on me again after that.
ThisOpenFist
35. Locked In Limits
My best friend has an overprotective dad that I despise. He wouldn't let her be on the cross country team because usually practice ends at six, and he didn't want her "being out that late to just mingle with guys."
The thing is coach wanted her on the varsity team because she has great stamina. Once she was using her laptop to type an essay, her comes her dad, slammed the laptop shut breaking the screen.
He didn't want her around online with men. She recently told me she wouldn't be able to attend formal or prom for her senior year, her dad won't let her.
[deleted]
36. Breaking Free
I had a friend in high school with very overprotective parents. No music, no TV, etc. When he'd come over he was always glued to the TV.
I'm sure there is a lot more to the story of what went on behind closed doors, but soon after high school, he got married and pretty much cut all ties with his family.
Sad really, but I've recently heard from him, and he seems quite happy, with (well-adjusted) children of his own.
Daemon69
37. Mama Hawk’s Laser
I had a friend growing up whose mother was very protective. The father not so much, but she was so bad that my parents called her mama hawk.
I invited him to my 10th birthday party, which was at a laser tag place. His mom came, which was fine, but then while we were playing laser tag, she stood with him the whole time.
Didn't play, just stayed with him. Really? What was she protecting him from? He turned out surprisingly normal and now lives a thousand miles away from her. I'm not sure how she does with that.
[deleted]
38. From Restriction To Tragedy
I was friends with a girl in elementary school who had parents who wouldn't let her watch PG-rated movies at the age of 12. Even with parental guidance!
She wasn't allowed to come over to my house because I mentioned my favorite movie at the time to them and it wasn't G-rated.
She nearly drowned at the beach a couple of years ago getting caught in a riptide. She suffered permanent brain damage from a lack of oxygen. Her parents now have the forever child they always wanted.
Toil_x_Trouble
39. Helicopter Parent’s Dilemma
I had a father question everything about my lesson planning and teaching methods during a parent-teacher meeting. I was well prepared and I fielded his questions very well.
After asking probably 50 questions, he looks around the classroom with a big smirk and says "Sorry to ask so many questions, I am what you call a helicopter parent.”
I told him I was more than happy to give him weekly updates about his son, as well as spend my office hours sitting down with him to help even further. His response? "Oh, I am much too busy for that." Worst helicopter parenting ever.
[deleted]
40. Touchdown Or Takedown
This guy "knows" that his son is going to be a great NFL quarterback. The kid turned 10 recently and is a decent player, but his father has his work with different trainers and spends hours each day practicing.
He takes vitamins, has a special diet, and isn't allowed to play other sports because his dad wants him to focus completely on football and doesn't want to risk an injury playing another sport that would sideline him for football.
He can't have sleepovers or do any normal kid things. I know for a fact that the kid has told his father that he doesn't want to play anymore, but the dad doesn't care.
He says that as a parent, he has to do what is best for his kid. My sons play sports too and they don't always want to go to practice, so I understand making them stick with something they signed up for.
My kids know that they have to finish out a season, but I am perfectly fine if they don't want to sign up for the next season.
I just don't understand why someone would continue to sign their kid up for something they do not want to do. It's a situation that I can't see ending well, honestly.
[deleted]
41. Dark Side Of Intense Parental Coaching
This is similar to what I was thinking. There's a high school Freshman whose Dad is insane about Track and Field. He "trains" his daughter all year to "beat that other girl” (who happens to be my daughter who is pretty darn good naturally).
This parent sits in the stands and screams instructions or he goes out on the field if he can, and coaches her. More than once I've seen him pull her behind the stands and yell at her to the point where she's sobbing. It's sickening.
I'm a firm believer in supporting a child's dreams or goals but as the Parent not as their sideline coach. It isn't my job.
I'm the one who ensures a safe place to sleep, food, clothes, etc. This guy is pushing his daughter well beyond her ability in a harmful way and it's sad to watch. The girl could be good but she's being ruined.
caroja
42. Spoon-Feeding Control
I am a teacher. A friend of mine had a mom who came to lunch every single day with her kid from kindergarten to the last I checked (I've since left that school) in second grade.
A little much, but the kicker is, that she used to spoon-feed him. This child had no issues and was completely capable of feeding himself but she insisted on feeding him so she could monitor what he ate.
Pizzaisthebestfood
43. The Trials of Being Tracked
It was me! I was 22 and had moved back home for a few months after my divorce so I could save up enough money for an apartment (no credit so it was $1,500 to move in!).
I went to visit an old friend 45 minutes away. She did not use cellphones so I told my mom I wouldn't be checking mine out of courtesy, but I would text when I got there and when I left. I got there, texted, and put my phone on silent.
After a few hours, I got a bad feeling and checked my phone. My mom had checked the "find my friends" app and it said I was in a drainage ditch.
Funnily enough, it was right next to the restaurant we were eating at because that app isn't always accurate!) and said if I didn't call her she'd call the police.
I called her, and she had to hang up with the police to answer my call. Because her adult daughter didn't answer the phone for a few hours after I'd warned her I wouldn't!
highheelcyanide
44. Legal Chaos
I was in court waiting to see the judge. Another case is going on about this high school senior hitting a kid with his car on campus.
His mom goes up with him and when the judge starts asking questions the mom answers them. The judge politely told her he'd like to hear from the son and she agreed.
The boy started to explain what happened when she immediately cut him off and told him he was doing it wrong. She begins talking again, and the judge visibly annoyed now asks her if she was there.
"No, but I know what happened" she assured him. When the judge told her multiple witnesses claimed that's not what happened, she called them liars who were just out to attack her boy.
She continued to argue with everything the judge said. Until he finally had enough of this woman interrupting him and had her removed.
TheEmeraldArcher455
45. A Job Application Story
A girl showed up to apply for a job. Her mom asked for the application. I ignored the mom and motioned for the girl to step forward and I asked her some questions.
She looked at her mom hesitantly and her mom told her to answer the questions. It was not a good sign that she didn't know if she could speak with us. She was 19 and this was going to be her first job.
We decided to give her a shot. During her first shift, it quickly became apparent that she was not going to work out and we let her go. The dad showed up the next day inquiring about why his baby girl couldn't work there.
The girl looked so embarrassed, I felt bad for her but you could tell the parents never gave her any freedom to be herself or build up any sort of experience, life experience, or work experience.
PittStateGuerilla