I grew up with three parents: Mom, Dad, and Nintendo.

My mother and father were great—kept me out of trouble, let me earn trust, and gave me some slack on the leash.

Nintendo, on the other hand, has always been the stereotypical helicopter parent.

And still is.

When I moved out of my Mom and Dad’s house, I took my Nintendo games with me. Along with them, I brought some overbearing restrictions along for the ride.

I got my own place to live, my own car to ride, and my own job to cover my bills. That’s what we call “adulting.” Unfortunately, I still feel like a kid when I try to play online and use the limited internet services built into Nintendo systems.

This company from Japan thinks it’s their job to raise me. It’s not, and it never was.

If Nintendo wants to provide a parental control app—great. The one for Switch has some neat features. That needs to be the end of their responsibilities, so parents can do the rest.

It would sure be nice to talk to my friends… or even my competitors if I want to!