We’ve all heard the stories — or perhaps, we’re the ones telling the stories — of overprotective parenting.

Now, we’re witnessing it in action.

Some parents in Oak Park have recently raised concerns because of a liquor store that was to be opened near Stevenson Fitness. One of the principal reasons for this was because students would have easier access to alcohol.

Not only is that point untrue, because there is already a liquor store only a mile down Kanan in Agoura, but it fundamentally misunderstands the issue. Parents simply cannot provide for every single contingency.

There are some parents that monitor Internet use or unnecessarily intervene at school. There are some that micromanage friendships, that prohibit dating and shame sexuality. There are some that do not even allow their teenagers to stay home alone or walk to school.

There are two fundamental mindsets that drive these behaviors: fear and distrust. Fear of all the potential dangers that await unprotected children — because, of course, independence leads to nothing but a world of troubles — and distrust of their abilities even as they become adults. According to Michigan State University’s Collegiate Employment Research Institute, 12 percent of employers have seen parents arranging interviews for their child, 15 percent have seen parents complaining the company does not subsequently hire that child and 31 percent have seen parents submitting resumes on the child’s behalf.

It’s bad enough to hover over teenagers as they find their career. What’s worse is actually picking the career for them. A 2013 study published by the Journal of Child and Family Studies shows that the more a parent influences the choice of a college major, the less satisfied the child will feel with their education.

Trust and communication are two-way streets, and neither can be forced. Parents who tend to react disproportionately will naturally lose trust. Communication withers away accordingly, and the child becomes inexperienced, dependent and vulnerable.

Your kid doesn’t tell you everything, so you only assume the worst of intentions. “Why are you interrogating me, Mom?” is met with suspicions of drug use, criminal activity or worse: a relationship!

It’s to be expected, then, that overprotective parents impede independence. When confronted with a problem — whether it be in education, in relationships or in self-discovery — sheltered children cannot solve it themselves. After a lifetime of relying too much on their parents, they simply have no experience with autonomy. So the parents get involved once again, and the child becomes dependent once again, thus continuing this vicious cycle laced with benevolent yet misguided intentions.

Parents providing guidance: that’s natural and healthy. What isn’t healthy, though, is when parents forget that their teenagers are living, breathing human beings — real people, just like them, who don’t want or need to be coddled. Real people who must experience the real world, make independent decisions and, most importantly, learn from their own mistakes.

If teenagers never learn — if teenagers must be protected from something as trivial as a nearby liquor store — then they will never become adults. They will never be given the chance to succeed on their own accountability, nor will they ever develop a true identity aside from the one forced onto them by their parents.

A child’s hand can’t be held forever.