Moving home with kids in tow
I’ve talked before about how much more complicated it is when your adult children move home with kids of their own. Not only do you have to sort out your relationship and space-sharing issues with an adult — you also have kids involved, and they may not be happy to have left the home they were used to and be “stuck” with Grandma and Grandpa. These can be the most fragile situations, but they can also be the most helpful — think about how powerful it is for your grandkids to see good parenting in action, both by you and by your adult child.
There’s a great blog post on the santarosamom.com blog about what it felt like for one woman to move back in with her parents after a divorce — and share a bedroom with her two children. If you’re living in a similar situation, it’s definitely worth a read.
Interview: Your Time With Kim Iverson
On Monday, I had the pleasure of appearing on Your Time With Kim Iverson, a radio show that broadcasts in 9 U.S. cities, to talk about boomerang kids. You can listen to my interview with Kim here: Your Time with Kim Iverson – Monday, August 16, 2010
Two key mistakes that can endanger your retirement
It’s natural for parents to want to support their children, even as those children reach adulthood. But in tough economic times, parents must remember to look after their own financial well-being as well. Adult children may struggle financially, but they have many more years of full earning potential ahead of them than their parents do. So, parents need to be careful about jeopardizing their own financial situation to support adult kids.
Mark Patterson, a writer for usnews.com, shared the following two tips as part of a recent article on “attitude adjustments necessary for retirement success.”
1. Your retirement is more important than your kids’ college education.
2. Your retirement is more important than your kids’ lifestyle.
To view the full text of the tips, plus the three additional attitude adjustments Patterson suggests, click here.
Want to be in a documentary on adult children living at home?
A Canadian production company is working on a documentary looking at the implications of the global trend of adult children moving back into (or never leaving) their parents’ homes. They will be looking at the issue from the perspective of the adult children and the parents, and will be using real families in the documentary to talk about the issues. If you are interested in being considered for this documentary, or finding out more, send me an e-mail at christina@adultchildrenlivingathome.com and I will put you in touch with the producers.