Helping Adult Children Leave the Nest

Do you know what a “Yuckie is? This is the new word to describe adult children living at home: “Yuckie” = Young Unwitting Costly Kid.

Children become adults and leave the nest much later than ever before. The main reasons have to do with our current economy and the difficulty many have with housing and other living expenses.

Sometimes, adult children move home after being on their own for a while because of a divorce, loss of a job or other reasons.

Whatever causes the change, it is often difficult for the young adult as well as their parents. Often parents are retired or saving up and looking forward to retirement. Caring for their children … again … can be very costly.

We have some suggestion for families facing this dilemma and would welcome your thoughts and ideas.

For those who have already been out on their own, do not see returning home as the first best option.
Sometimes your adult child may just need help finding a cheaper place to live, a better idea of budgeting or even a short-term loan.

Don’t go into debt yourself
Continue to save for your own retirement. By all means, do not take out a loan for the children. Find ways to work with them … not for them

Teach your young adult about finances.
You may be willing to help them out of debt, but don’t just bail them out. Work our a repayment plan, either with money or increased responsibility.

Set clear expectations about the living arrangements.
Discuss household responsibilities, overnight arrangements with dates, what needs there are for sharing plans about when each of you will be home for meals, trips, etc.

Charge your young adult rent.
Rent can be a good thing, even if you decide to put it in a savings account for when your adult child leaves home.

Set a time limit.
It is NOT cruel to set a date when the arrangement will end. You may choose to extend the limit; however, it is better to make changes in the middle that are more flexible than to set deadlines when tension builds.

Stick to your guns.
It doesn’t help if you back down on your word. Your goal is to help your young adult become self-sufficient. Honor your promises and hold her to her promises. In the end, everyone will feel better about the arrangement.

Do you have ideas for what you have learned might work? Please share them with us.

Interested in reading more of our articles about retirement? Click here to check out our online counseling website. We have many articles there with lots of advice for different relationship dilemmas.