Problem: Meddling Parents is supposed to be about a parent who is still overly involved in their children's live, or trying to intrude into their personal space even after they've grown up. The thing is, nothing in the name suggests that these parents' children are grown up, so most people just use it as "parents who are overprotective, nosy or controlling towards their children", regardless of the kids' age.

Indeed, the wick check shows that only one wick emphasize that the kids are adults, and even that is just an in-line description from another trope page, and not actually used as an example entry. There are 5 examples (labelled Borderline), where the context indicate that the children are already grown up (e.g. the parents being pushy about the kids' marriage, marriage partner, or lack thereof), but doesn't really focus on the fact that the kids are adults. 16 simply describe the parents as pushy/controlling without specifying the child's age, although there are at least 3 where I know that the kids are in elementary to middle/high school. 10 lacks context, and the rest are vague usage that are either shoehorns, "inversions" and other things that seems to better fit in other tropes since it lacks context about the parents' "meddling" actions, e.g. Knight Templar Parent, Amazingly Embarrassing Parents, My Beloved Smother, Fantasy-Forbidding Father, etc.

Proposed Solution: Could be redefined to fit the misuse: of parents who are excessively protective/possessive towards their children that they try to run every aspect of the kids' lives, thinking it's their own good. Move examples that fit better in other tropes.

1. Always a Child to Parent: If the parent can't rein in their tendency to control every aspect of their child's life regardless of their having grown up, such a parent can go from simply denying their fledgling is ready to fly, and go straight on to being an Meddling Parents...

1. The Simpsons S13 E8 "Sweets and Sour Marge": To get Bart and Lisa to cut down on sugar worried that they're getting to be as fat as their father, Marge enacts a sugar ban on the town of Springfield. Primary school-aged kids
   • The Simpsons: Beginning in the 14th season however, Marge gradually turned into a stodgy, overprotective Stepford Smiler, also picking up a hypocritical streak that allowed her to engage in some of her family's increasingly reckless hijinks despite her increased moralizing.
   • The Simpsons - Marge Simpson: She went from being a loving, prepared, down to earth mother who lectured Bart whenever he was up to his old tricks to overprotecting him and being paranoid about his well-being.
2. Fantasy-Forbidding Father: Ursula's parents, who basically raised her in an opaque, home-schooled bubble, and are still obsessive helicopter parents.
3. Dawn Of A New Age Oldport Blues Non Player Characters: Her mother has been known at times to try and interfere in her life, which usually just sours things between the two of them. Character is a high schooler
4. Criminal Case: The Conspiracy - Case 27: Behind These Walls: Clive was this towards Mason, wanting to control every aspect of his life (such as the university he was going to attend) merely because it was family tradition to mold the Bloom heir in the parents' image.
5. Queer as Folk (US): Debbie to Michael. She constantly asks about her son's sex life, nudges him towards certain partners, and tries to keep him from others (notably Ben when she is concerned about his HIV). After Vic moves out, she becomes even more involved in Michael's life.
6. The Flash 2014 S 5 E 21 The Girl With The Red Lightning: Barry and Iris still try to keep Nora out of everything to keep her safe, until Nora convinces them that she is not as reckless as before and genuinely believes she can help.
7. The Cornersville Trace Mythos: Jenny's, who are way overprotective of her. To Jenny, ordering espresso is like ordering speed.
8. His Only Wife: It applies to both Afi's mother and Auntie Ganyo. Except the latter demands an unusual level of control over her children.
9. Crazy Rich Asians: Eleanor, Nick's mom, is always manipulating aspects of his personal life. She claims it's always in his best interests.
10. Avengers, Assemble! – The Avengers: Thor's dad, Odin, has a tendency to dictate how his son should live his life, much to Thor's displeasure.
11. Chrestomanci: Christopher's mother is a Control Freak social climber and his father a Workaholic who blew all his money, both of whom, though they do love him, want to dictate his life for personal gain. Cat and Gwendolen's parents are both implied to have been very kind, even seeming to realize that Gwendolen was using Cat's magic somehow, but they die within the first two pages.
12. The Black Sheep Dog Series: Orion and Walburga (but especially Walburga) never stop trying to "straighten" Sirius's wayward ways and still attempt to integrate him into the main family as the heir proper, despite his desire to be free of them.
13. Psych S 04 E 06 Bollywood Homicide: Well, meddling grandparent; it seems Raj’s grandmother is very eager to offer unsolicited, rather pushy advice regarding his love life.
14. Against the Grain: Parents in the trope may realise they need to stop dictating their offspring's behaviour, and start accepting their independence.
15. Shugo Chara!: Due to her previous failed kidnapping, Rima's parents are very controlling and overprotective, which has a large toll on Rima. Eventually she throws them a Calling the Old Man Out speech for treating her like an object to hoard and lock up rather than their daughter. Character is in elementary school
16. Dead Poets Society: He is so determined that Neil should become a doctor, he consults Nolan to discontinue Neil's future involvement with the school yearbook, and forbids Neil to ever speak in his own defense, especially when he removes him from Welton after the play has concluded. Eventually, blinded by his ambitious goals for Neil becoming a doctor, he calls for an investigation into Mr. Keating and the Dead Poets Society's activities after Neil's suicide, ignoring that his pressure on Neil to become a doctor was the real cause of his suicide.

1. The Wedding Banquet: Wai-Tung's parents are so desperate to see him get married that they fly a potential match over to him without his consent. They later pretty much entirely organize the wedding banquet, which Wai-Tung hadn't wanted but felt guilted into.
2. The Magnificent Seven (1998): Every time Maude shows up. she essentially pulls Ezra around by his ear scolding him for wasting his talents and the skills she taught him by becoming a common lawman. She interferes with his plans to run the saloon by purchasing the local hotel and running him out of business, in an attempt to teach him a vague lesson about staying on his toes.
3. Xena S 05 E 10 Lyre Lyre Hearts On Fire: Cyrene really wants Xena to find a husband to marry.
4. Cold Enough For Snow: Hugh simply will not leave Pippa alone when she goes to university, finding out about her neighbouring students, setting up his office nearby, and playing golf with university lecturers, so that he can pry about how she is getting on.
5. Criminal Case: Mysteries of the Past - Case 52: A Study in Pink: Verushka's ultimate reason for killing her mother was this, as she never left her made her own decisions. The breaking point was when Barbara prohibited Verushka from marrying Callum, prompting her to kill Barbara.
   Verushka: She was like a big, pink mosquito, always buzzing in my ear! I couldn't take it anymore!

1. Philip Larkin: "This Be the Verse".
2. Vanity Fair is a Magazine, Not a Book: The Straw Hats are meddling foster parents to Ichigo.
3. Generic Fantasy: Meddling Parent / Knight Templar Parent / Papa Wolf: How he is viewed by himself, Rose, and everyone who dares hurt the latter, in that order.
4. Stiffelio: Stankar, with disastrous consequences.
5. Chasing Life: Becomes one after learning that April has cancer.
6. Billions Main Characters: Charles Rhoades, Sr. Dear God, yes.
7. Parks and Recreation - Relatives: Leslie's mother and "a big mucky-muck in the county school system". Has shades of Meddling Parent and 'Well Done, Daughter' Girl.
8. XTC: "Making Plans for Nigel".
9. Jane and the Dragon
   • Magnus Breech: Manipulates Gunther into helping him do his dirty work quite often.
   • Chamberlain Milton Turnkey: Tries very much to avoid this, but can't help sometimes worrying.
   • Lady-in-Waiting Adeline Turnkey: Far more than her husband is.
10. Star★Twinkle Pretty Cure: Hikaru: I understand about your father, but what do you think?

1. Holiday Edition: Dawitsu's Mother is concerned and well-meaning, but also somewhat pushy. Dawitsu's father is the exact opposite, and doesn't seem to treat Dawitsu as anything more than a good friend.
2. Pixie Lott: The latter [Russel Brand] also apparently flirted with Pixie in 2009 before he met Katy Perry. She was essentially forced by her mum to turn him down. This seems to violate no troping real-life person, since this is about the artist's personal relationships with other
3. Assassination Classroom: Others: She's the Agent at first, trying to meet with Koro-sensei and later intending to meet with Asano Sr. in order to negotiate Nagisa's return to the main campus. However, she moves up to the Blackhawk when she tries to force Nagisa to burn down the Class 3-E campus in order to leave him with no other choice but to try and return to the main area. Character is a high school student
4. Better Call Saul: It is hinted that HHM is something of a gilded cage for Howard. In "Fifi" he admits to Kim that he had actually wanted to start his own firm but joined HHM at his father's insistence.
5. Zettai Hero Project: It's so bad that she's an overall bad influence to her daughter. She's most likely the main reason why Etranger is so cynical about everything in life.
6. Live-Action TV: Lorelai has long since resigned herself to never earning the respect of her Meddling Parents, though she's pleasantly surprised to finally get it from her father after she helps him set up his new business.
7. The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers: The worst of them all. It's shown that while Coach T runs the Duck on the ice, she's in charge in every other area. Doesn't seem to be a parent
8. YuYu Hakusho: Raizen when he possesses Yusuke during his final fight with Sensui.
9. Hamatora: Oh, and their leader is a Meddling Parent who completely ruined her own Muggle son's life because she had the very same prejudices she was supposedly fighting against.
10. My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic S6 E24 "Top Bolt": During Vapor Trail's flashback to her youth, we see her parents flittering about their front yard trying to engage Vapor in some activity, thus acting as "helicopter parents". Their cutie marks are rotors, also pointing to the pun. Characters represent Visual Puns of "Meddling parents" but don't seem to act as such.
11. August Rush: Lyla's father forging adoption papers in order to keep Lyla on the path to success. His actions doesn't seem to be particularly controlling or interfering with the child's wishes. More like Knight Templar Parent
12. Tropes M to P
    • Castle's mother is constantly telling people things he wishes she wouldn't. Castle has his moments of over-protectiveness with Alexis, too, but after the chewing-out mentioned above, he's gotten a lot better. From "Vampire Weekend," when Alexis asks to go to a party thrown by high school seniors:
      Castle: This is one of those crossroads moments, isn't it?
      Martha: Oh, let her go. She's far more responsible than you ever were.
    • Inverted in "Food to Die For", when Alexis is hoping her dad will intervene on her decision of whether or not to go camping with her friends when she should probably spend the weekend studying. He finally does at the very end. And only because she has to tell him to do so, so that she can tell her friends she really wants to go with them but her father won't let her.
    • Inverted again by Alexis in "Significant Others" when Castle can't stop his ex-wife and Alexis's mother Meredith from staying at his place while Beckett is there. They were supposed to go to Paris before Alexis got sick with mono, and at the end of the episode, Alexis solves Castle's problem by insisting that her mom should go enjoy Paris for her. Seems like a shoehorn. I'm not sure what this example is even trying to say
13. Hamatora: Oh, and their leader is a Meddling Parent who completely ruined her own Muggle son's life because she had the very same prejudices she was supposedly fighting against.
14. The Chosen: Played with. He knows very well what is going on with Danny, but rather than confronting him hopes that his son will tell him of his own free will. Seems like a complete aversion? Nothing about the parent's actions are meddling or controlling in any way.
15. Tokimeki Memorial Girls Side 1: His father is against his wish of wanting to become a botanist after graduating. Doesn't show any controlling behaviour from the father. A parent can be a Fantasy-Forbidding Father without being too meddlesome
16. Town Girls: Belinda was raised by her rough and tough father, Claire was raised by an upper-class wealthy family, and Alice was raised in the suburbs where she either got along with boys and girls alike or her Meddling Parents don't allow her to hang out with other girls or do anything that too boyish.
17. Dice Funk Shardpoint: Toow's father contacts the school, concerned with which classes the credits are from. Apparently, he'd rather Toow become an engineer despite a lack of skill or interest in the subject. Doesn't show particularly controlling behaviour from the father. A parent can be a Fantasy-Forbidding Father without being too meddlesome
18. La 1-5/18, Somos Uno: Renata is always trying to know what is his son doing, and who are his friends. My Beloved Smother?
19. Sponge Bob Square Pants S 1 E 5 Pizza Delivery Home Sweet Pineapple: SpongeBob fears he'll have to go back to moving back with Mom and Dad since the nematodes ate his pineapple home. His parents are quite eager to take him back.