History Main / AntiSmotherLoveTalk

** In "The Washouts", while flying toward the arena, Twilight Sparkle tells Rainbow Dash that she has to let Scootaloo makes her own decisions. While initially reluctant to accept it, Rainbow eventually lets Scootaloo join the Washouts without stopping her.

'''Dory''': Well, you can't never let ''anything'' happen to him, then nothing would ''ever'' happen to him. Not much fun for little Harpo.

* ''Fanfic/ADovahkiinSpreadsHisWings'' enjoys to give these to Ned Stark, who still believes his bastard son Jon would be happier to be back in Westeros and close to his family. At least three persons point Jon is actually quite wealthy, powerful and happy in Skyrim, so it would be better to let him live his way as he pleases.

* Toward the end of ''Film/{{Mirrormask}}'', Helena faces the Dark Queen, who has been ravaging the world in search for her daughter whose escape from said world is causing it to collapse. Helena tries to convince the Queen to treat the princess like a human being instead of a kind of plaything, leading to a moment that teases a HeelRealization and then defies it:

* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'': If you take your [[StaticRoleExchangeableCharacter sole surviving sibling]] to the Deep Roads expedition, your mother will beg you to leave them at home, since she cannot bear to lose both of you. You can then give her the reassurance that everything will be fine and that you are both responsible adults, persuading her to relent. [[spoiler:Naturally, if both of you go to the Deep Roads, your sibling contracts the Taint and dies (or, under very specific circumstances, becomes a Grey Warden -- a Fate Worse Than Death by many standards), so your mother ''was'' right.]]

'''Dory''': Well, you can't never let ''anything'' happen to him, then nothing would ''ever'' happen to him. Not much fun for little [[AccidentalMisnaming Harpo]].

* In one ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'' episode, Ben's parents find out that their son has been acting as a superhero. They are horrified and attempt to prevent him from returning to the field of battle, even going so far as to ground him and take away his technology so he can't be involved with the battle even remotely. Ben initially sticks to their rules (albeit with some use of LoopholeAbuse), but when Kevin is in trouble during a battle, he tells his parents that he has to do this -- after all, they taught him to do the right thing. When he gets back, they agree to let him continue with the superheroics, but caution him to please be careful.

->'''Marlin:''' I promised him I'd never let anything happen to him.
->'''Dory:''' Hmm, that's a funny thing to promise.
->'''Marlin:''' What?
->'''Dory:''' Well, you can't never let ''anything'' happen to him, then nothing would ''ever'' happen to him. Not much fun for little [[AccidentalMisnaming Harpo]].

!!Examples:

* ''Fanfic/RainbowDoubleDashsLunaverse:'' Trixie and Cheerilee give Ditzy one of these in "Exam Jitters", after Ditzy goes in smother mode when Dinky gets lost during the rain, and even talks her out of ''potentially'' applying for a prestigious school via emotional blackmail. They eventually manage to get through to her.

-->'''Gobber:''' You're not always going to be there to protect him. He's going to get out there. He's probably out there now.

-->'''Helena:''' She's not a pet! She's not even a child anymore! You have to let her grow up.\\
'''Dark Queen:''' You mean... let her choose her own food, her own clothes, make her own decisions... love her, but don't try to possess her?\\
'''Helena:''' Yes, that's exactly what I mean.\\
'''Dark Queen:''' Absolutely out of the question.

-->'''Dad:''' Helen, dogs die, they get sick, they run away from home. They're just a heartbreak waiting to happen.\\
'''Helen:''' So you want to shelter him from life. For how long?

[[folder:Fan-fic]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

** [[HeroicBSOD At a low point in the journey]], Marlin murmurs, "I promised I'd never let anything happen to him." Dory's response serves as a low-key rebuttal to Marlin's overprotectiveness and helps him understand why Nemo tried to rebel against his precautionary measures:

-->'''Gobber''': You're not always going to be there to protect him. He's going to get out there. He's probably out there now.

-->'''Helena''': She's not a pet! She's not even a child anymore! You have to let her grow up.
-->'''Dark Queen''': You mean... let her choose her own food, her own clothes, make her own decisions... love her, but don't try to possess her?
-->'''Helena''': Yes, that's exactly what I mean.
-->'''Dark Queen''': Absolutely out of the question.
* ''Film/WonderWoman2017'': When Hippotyla chastises her sister for training Diana, her sister retorts that they both know it's only a matter of time before Ares returns and Diana has to be ready. Hippotyla then relents (in fact telling her that she can train her ten times as hard as any other Amazon), but tells her that Diana must not know the truth about herself.

-->'''Dad''': Helen, dogs die, they get sick, they run away from home. They're just a heartbreak waiting to happen.\\
-->'''Helen''': So you want to shelter him from life. For how long?

[[folder: VideoGames]]
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'': If you take your [[StaticRoleExchangeableCharacter sole surviving sibling]] to the Deep Roads expedition, your mother will beg you to leave them at home, since she cannot bear to lose both of you. You can then give her the reassurance that everything will be fine and that you are both responsible adults, persuading her to relent. [[spoiler:Naturally, if both of you go to the Deep Roads, your sibling contracts the Taint and dies (or, under very specific circumstances, becomes a Grey Warden--a Fate Worse Than Death by many standards), so your mother ''was'' right.]]

[[folder: WesternAnimation]]

* Played with in "Flutter Brutter" episode of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''. Zephyr Breeze is a slacker and his parents enable it, causing him to drain their resources instead of finding something profitable to do... until Fluttershy steps in and convinces the parents they need to intervene.

[[/folder]]

* In Film/MyDogSkip, Willie's dad protests often that he does not want his son to get the dog he's been begging for. Willie's mom buys him one anyway for his birthday and they have this conversation.
-->'''Dad''': Helen, dogs die, they get sick, they run away from home. They're just a heartbreak waiting to happen.

-->--''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo''

* In PokemonBlackAndWhite, when Bianca's dad wants to make her go home and quit her Pokemon journey, Elesa steps in and convinces him to let Bianca continue traveling.

Parents are supposed to look after their kids, and to a certain degree, a [[MamaBear mother]] or [[PapaWolf father]] who tries to keep her/his children from danger is admired. But in some cases, it can really get in the way. It may happen in the case of a KidHero whose parent finds out [[WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld what he's been doing]] and reacts [[RealityEnsues exactly the way you'd expect a parent to]] -- with panic and prohibitions against further heroic activity. It may happen in the case of a kid who has always been smothered by a parent who is determined to safeguard their beloved children [[SafetyWorst against any and all dangers]]. Whatever the reason, it's seriously affecting the kid's life.

At this point, someone steps in. In some cases, it may be the other parent. In cases where both parents are panicking (or one is dead or [[TrulySingleParent non-existent]]), it may be a close friend of one of them. In some cases, it may even be the child him/herself. The person steps in and points out to the parent that "he/she's not going to be your little boy/girl forever" and that they have to let the child branch out into riskier activities. They may point out that the parent won't always be able to be there and that a better use of the time would be teaching the child what they need to know to protect themselves. In some cases, they may appeal to something the parent said earlier. After this talk, the parent usually gives in, if with a little trepidation.

---> '''Dory:''' Huh, that's a funny thing to promise.
---> '''Marlin:''' What?
---> '''Dory:''' Well, you can't never let anything happen to him, then nothing would ever happen to him. Not much fun for little Harpo.

->'''Dory:''' Well, you can't never let ''anything'' happen to him, then nothing would ''ever'' happen to him. Not much fun for little [[AccidentalNisnaming Harpo]].

* Played with in ''Flutter Brutter'' episode of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''. Zephyr Breeze is a slacker and his parents enable it, causing him to drain their resources instead of finding something profitable to do... until Fluttershy steps in and convinces the parents they need to intervene.

* Played with in ''Flutter Brutter'' episode of ''MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''. Zephyr Breeze is a slacker and his parents enable it, causing him to drain their resources instead of finding something profitable to do... until Fluttershy steps in and convinces the parents they need to intervene.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'' episode "The Quiverwing Quack", Gosalyn, as the titular superheroine, has been crime-fighting. However, Darkwing forbids her from doing so because he's afraid she'll get hurt. Launchpad gives Darkwing a talk he says his father gave him about how you have to let your children grow up and can't hold on too tightly.

[[folder: Film]]

Formerly AntiParentalOverprotectivenessTalk.