Overparenting keeps kids coming back in their 20s and beyond: Why Tough Love Is Essential For Raising Successful And Competent Adults

Save to notebook Email article Print article More articles

Baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) are parenting long beyond what used to be considered normal. Their offspring who are 20 to 30 years old are back living at home, rent-free, and subsidized.

It seems that devoted parents who have poured a big investment into their children aren't letting them go. David Anderegg, professor of psychology at Bennington College in Vermont says, "Hyper-investment is hard to turn off." Anderegg is the author of Worried All the Time: Overparenting in an Age of Anxiety (Free Press).

Many young people today think living independently is less of a sign of adulthood than completing an education or supporting a family. The problem is so common that many Americans don't consider a person an adult until age 26, according to the National Opinion Research Center.

Psychologists and sociologists writing in Psychology Today say the trend is not good. Parents are impeding their children's independence and their own right to pursue their lives. The doctors recommend that, in the absence of an acute crisis or devastating financial setback, parents should look twice at housing their offspring.

People may enjoy having their children around and being chummy with them, but often it's not in the kids' best interests.

Long Island Family Life & Parenting Articles > Overparenting keeps kids coming back in their 20s and beyond: Why Tough Love Is Essential For Raising Successful And Competent Adults