I wasn't sheltered at all, but I was controlled. My parents didn't care if I went out to drink with friends in high school as long as I told them where I was going and who I was with and it was always the same people, so they knew they could trust us to be responsible. They were both partiers as kids, and they had to hide it from their parents which created bad relationships with them. I think they didn't want that to happen to my sister and I. My parents know pretty much everything about me, but I tell them it because there is a mutual respect and I think that's the way the relationship should be. Parents that shelter their kids are not doing the right thing. At some point, kids need to make decisions for themselves and coddling them along isn't going to help them transition into adults.