My mom is a very "do it yourself" kind of parent. The most she would do is say "so-and-so is hiring, you should drop by there". That being said, I believe I would be the same way. When a parent tags a long with their child on a job hunt or anything of the sort I would question the applicant on if s/he is independent enough to do a job well without the constant support of a parent. Or, like Alyssa said, that the kid wasn't that interested in actually having a job.

Now, I have helped a friend fill out an application because he is very dyslexic and has problems reading, but other than that, if the person is fully capable of reading and comprehending an application, then they can do it on their own.