Invest In Your Life 161 // When Your Empty Nest is a Revolving Door
Mar 15, 2022
A candid look at adult children moving back home and why it can trigger parental shame. Data on the rising trend of boomerang kids and pandemic effects. Clear guidance on setting healthy boundaries, financial rules, chores, and roommate-style expectations. Advice on shifting parenting roles and creating move-out timelines to avoid open-ended dependency.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Returning Kids Are Not A Parenting Failure
- Parents often interpret a returning adult child as a personal failure rather than a reflection of external conditions.
- James Lenhoff points to societal disruption (pandemic, jobs, college closures) as reasons boomerangs rose, not parental incompetence.
Boomerang Trend Grew Dramatically Since 2000
- Boomerang living rose sharply: about 10% in 2000, 32% in 2014, and nearly 52% in 2020.
- James notes 2020 is pandemic-influenced but signals a larger trend that makes returning common and understandable.
Set Financial Boundaries Before They Move In
- Do set clear financial boundaries before your adult child moves in, specifying what you will and won't cover.
- James warns that paying everything up front makes it nearly impossible to remove support later, so decide affordability and reasonableness first.