Adult Children

The NY Times has an article about adult children returning home to live. While I have (1) 28 year old and (1) 30 year old, neither have been home for any significant period of time since graduating college or being "medically retired" from the Navy. They've had struggles, to say the least, but neither wants to admit they can't make it on their own. I think the foundation for their determination is understanding that we are always here for them if they need us (as are most parents). 


The article talks about discussing rules, and over-all, I think they're good points to make understood:

He laid out four major overarching points that parents and children needed to discuss before the young adult moved back in:

1. What is your role in the house? Nonpaying guest or member of the family? What chores are you going to          do? Grocery shopping? Cooking?

2. What are you going to do to earn money in the short term if you can’t get a job in your desired career?            Flip hamburgers? Walk dogs?

3. What are you doing to pursue your desired career goals? Vocational training? Internships? Career 

     counseling?

4. When are you going to leave? It’s good to set a time limit — three months, six months, a year, Mr. Gallo      said.  It can always be renegotiated.

The idea, is “to provide a temporary security blanket with some structure.

I remember a time when it was not unusual for more than one generation of adults to live in the same household. While this could cause friction at times, over all my experience has been a positive one. There are things that all generations can learn from one another...Things that cannot be taught in a book or in a class.