“Once a parent, always a parent”, so the saying goes. But how do we parent our kids once they are adults? What do they need from us now, now that they are grown and probably out of the home? And, what can we expect from them?
There are many variations of the adult child/parent relationship, some of them satisfying and others not so.
Ideally, families remain as a unit and when the children leave the home, they are not really gone. They stay close in touch; the family is tight. There may be frequent phone calls or if they are near, weekly visits. Even if the children have moved far away, still they are often in contact and the family is very much involved in each other’s lives. When there are grandchildren, you play an important role in their lives, perhaps continuing to care give and be like a second set of parents to the children of your children. This situation is ideal, the big happy family so many of us have longed for.
But more often than not in our complex society, this may not be the case.
There are many variations of the adult child/parent relationship, some of them satisfying and others not so.
Ideally, families remain as a unit and when the children leave the home, they are not really gone. They stay close in touch; the family is tight. There may be frequent phone calls or if they are near, weekly visits. Even if the children have moved far away, still they are often in contact and the family is very much involved in each other’s lives. When there are grandchildren, you play an important role in their lives, perhaps continuing to care give and be like a second set of parents to the children of your children. This situation is ideal, the big happy family so many of us have longed for.
But more often than not in our complex society, this may not be the case.