Adult children back at home

Just when you thought your children were out on their own, they’re back! According to Jane Adams in her book When Our Grown Kids Disappoint Us: Letting Go of Their Problems, Loving Them Anyway, and Getting on with Our Lives, 58% of 21 – 24-year-olds live at home or have boomeranged back in the last two years; for 25 – 34-year-olds, the figure is 34 percent.

She discusses the tricky parts of helping your adult children learn to thrive on their own. It’s important to come up with an arrangement that supports your children while encouraging them to move out on their own. This arrangement needs to include things like

• Expectations for paying rent, utilities and insurance


• Conditions for staying at home


• Plans for employment


• A time table for moving out

The closer you can model what life is like in the real world, the more likely your child is to be able to successfully transition to independent living.