History Main / MeddlingParents

* Logainne's fathers in ''{{The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee}}'' are obsessed with forcing her success in both the bee and life in general. [[spoiler:One goes as far as to sabotage another contestant.]]

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In real life, parents can act like this as well, making this trope an example of TruthInTelevision. These parents are called "helicopter parents" due to their tendency to "hover" over their children, and are the bane of every teacher and admissions officer on the planet. Helicopter parents can effectively be put in these categories:

Sometimes a biological parent will abandon their kid (see Parental Abandonment) only to try to intrude into the kid's life years later (without intention or ability of actually taking good care of the kid) after a conscientious and loving parental substitute has already formed a bond with the kid. Examples: '''Film/Look Who's Talking''', '''Film/APlaceForAnnie'''. In film, the bad biological parent is often readily identifiable either by (1) stubborn insistence on chain smoking cigarettes around her toddler-aged child, (2) responding to any advice or concerns about parenting techniques with "it's my kid; don't tell me what to do!" and/or (3) total indifference toward spending any considerable amount of time actually interacting with the kid, much less taking on the "less fun" responsibilities of child care (changing diapers, etc.). It is then the parental substitute's job to angrily school him on how what he's doing is only going to hurt the child.

Sometimes a biological parent will abandon their kid (see Parental Abandonment) only to try to intrude into the kid's life years later (without intention of actually taking good care of the kid) after a conscientious and loving parental substitute has already formed a bond with the kid. Examples: '''Film/Look Who's Talking''', '''Film/APlaceForAnnie'''. In film, the bad biological parent is often readily identifiable either by (1) stubborn insistence on chain smoking cigarettes around her toddler-aged child, (2) responding to any advice or concerns about parenting techniques with "it's my kid; don't tell me what to do!" and/or (3) total indifference toward spending any considerable amount of time actually interacting with the kid, much less taking on the "less fun" responsibilities of child care (changing diapers, etc.),. It is then the parental substitute's job to school him on how what he's doing is only going to hurt the child.

Sometimes a biological parent will abandon their kid (see Parental Abandonment) only to try to intrude into the kid's life years later (without intention of actually taking good care of the kid) after a conscientious and loving parental substitute has already formed a bond with the kid. Examples: '''Film/Look Who's Talking''', '''Film/APlaceForAnnie'''. In film, the bad biological parent is often readily identifiable either by (1) stubborn insistence on chain smoking cigarettes around her toddler-aged child, and/or (2) total indifference toward spending any considerable amount of time actually interacting with the kid, much less taking on the "less fun" responsibilities of child care (changing diapers, etc.),. It is then the parental substitute's job to school him on how what he's doing is only going to hurt the child.

* Sarah Connor of [[TheTerminator the Terminator franchise]], most notably the ''Series/{{The Sarah Connor Chronicles}}'' is definite Black Hawk. It's justified in that her son grows up to save all of humanity.

* ''Parental Control''.

** Of course, the stereotype has spread to Italian mothers (or at least [[EverybodyLovesRaymond Italian-American]]) and Greek mothers and mothers in the Deep South... let's just say that the stereotype is universal (whether or not it's Truth in Television depends.)

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-->-- ''Creator/Philip Larkin'', "This Be the Verse"

-->-- '''Creator/Philip Larkin''', "This Be the Verse"

-->-- ''' Philip Larkin''', "This Be the Verse"

* Stephenie Meyer, Author of ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' has a meddling brother. Dear Seth Morgan controls which e-mails Stephenie sees and he won't let his dear sister [[http://www.freewebs.com/thedarksidecometh/thepetition.htm read petitiosn from her fans and urging her to continue writing despite the leaking of "Midnight Sun"]] He's pretty much regarded as an asshole by both rabid fans AND antis.

* In ''[[Literature/VampireAcademy Last Sacrifice]]'', Daniella Ivashkov tries to meddle in her son's Adrian life to resolve one potential problem. [[spoiler:When Queen Tatiana Ivashkov, her aunt-by-marriage, is killed at night, Rose Hathaway stands as the most likely suspect. But Rose spend that night with her boyfriend Adrian, providing her with an alibi. Daniella decides that the alibi is not solid enough and Adrian could be accused as an accomplice to murder. So she bribes a janitor to testify that Adrian arrived in Rose's apartment later than he actually did. Providing him with an alibi and incriminating Rose. Daniella does not care that Rose could end up executed for regicide. Her help is not appreciated by her son]]. Her plan eventually backfires as she is imprisoned for interfering with a murder investigation.

* Every mother depicted in ''StickIt'' was '''The Agent''' variation of helicopter parent; and some were a particularly abusive twist on that -- more focused on their daughter's gymnastic success than in their happiness or mental well-being.
* In ''AugustRush'' Lyla's father is so obsessed with making sure she is a successful violinist that he intentionally separated her from her son [[spoiler:by forging her name on the adoption certificate]] and told her [[spoiler:that the baby died]]. He does redeem himself by telling her eventually what he had done although he kept the secret for 11 years, making him a classic "Black Hawk" parent.

* John and Elly Patterson of ''ForBetterOrForWorse'' exhibited these tendencies, big-time, as the strip progressed.

* In ''{{Daria}}'', Helen Morgendorffer constantly tries to feel she is meaningfully engaged with her children when not at work, regardless of whether her daughters want it or not. However, the trope occasionally subverted, with her help being appreciated, whether it is helping Daria with a story project or defending her in a legal matter.

'''The Agent''', aka the '''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JetRanger JetRanger]]''' : Having an Agent helicopter parent is like having Max Clifford working for you round the clock--for free. They operate like a footballer's agent: fixing deals, arranging contracts, smoothing out local difficulties. It's the Agent's job to represent his or her client at events which, for whatever reason, the client feels are simply too tedious to attend. Specializes in nimble, agile bargains and deals.

* Daniella Ivashkov to Adrian in Literature/VampireAcademy -- she goes as far as buying him an alibi after Queen Tatiana is murdered. Although she doesn't seem to think about Rose (Adrian's girlfriend), who was framed and in serious danger of execution.

* Daniella Ivashkov to Adrian in Vampire Academy -- she goes as far as buying him an alibi after Queen Tatiana is murdered. Although she doesn't seem to think about Rose (Adrian's girlfriend), who was framed and in serious danger of execution.

* Richard and Emily Gilmore in ''GilmoreGirls'' are constantly trying to "help" their daughter and granddaughter -- or, if you prefer Lorelei's interpretation, control their lives and suppress their free will. They are, in fact, so manipulative that it is often bordering on impossible to believe that they legitimately care at all, and aren't just trying to ensure the outcome that will bring the least disrepute to the family name.
* Marie Barone, Raymond's mother on ''EverybodyLovesRaymond''. Frank, his dad, not so much.

* Stephenie Meyer, Author of ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' has a meddling brother! Dear Seth Morgan controls which e-mails Stephenie sees and he won't let his dear sister [[http://www.freewebs.com/thedarksidecometh/thepetition.htm Read petition from her fans, Urging her to continue writing despite the leaking of "Midnight Sun"]] He's pretty much regarded as an asshole by both rabid fans AND antis!
* Aubrey Ireland, an Ohio college student who won a restraining order against her parents. They would randomly drive from Kansas to Ohio to check on her and follow her around, keylogged her computer, and forcing her to turn on Skype so they could watch her sleep via webcam.

'''The Agent''', aka the '''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JetRanger JetRanger]]''' : Having an Agent helicopter parent is like having Max Clifford working for you round the clock-for free. They operate like a footballer's agent: fixing deals, arranging contracts, smoothing out local difficulties. It's the Agent's job to represent his or her client at events which, for whatever reason, the client feels are simply too tedious to attend. Specializes in nimble, agile bargains and deals.

* Jerry's parents on ''{{Seinfeld}}''.

* Bert and Sylvia Buchman on ''MadAboutYou''.
* Grandma Ida on ''MalcolmInTheMiddle''.
* Caleb in ''TheOC''.
* Mother Jefferson in ''TheJeffersons''.

* Rita's mother on ''{{Dexter}}''
* Sarah Connor of [[TheTerminator the Terminator franchise]], most notably the ''{{The Sarah Connor Chronicles}}'' is definite Black Hawk. It's justified in that her son grows up to save all of humanity.

* Morgan Fey of ''AceAttorney'' really, really wants her daughter Pearl to be the next Kurain Master. [[spoiler: To the point of tricking Pearl into nearly ''murdering'' the contender to the position by asking her to channel the vengeful spirit of Morgan's other daughter Dahlia, who would then kill Maya using Pearl's body.]] It's unclear if Pearl ever really understands what's going on, and given her young age it's probably better if she doesn't.

** Of course, the stereotype has spread to Italian mothers (or at least Italian-American) and Greek mothers and mothers in the Deep South... let's just say that the stereotype is universal (whether or not it's Truth in Television depends.)