Failure To Launch & The Impact on Relationships

I finally made it! Four years of hard work and living (semi) on my own in college, I packed my bags to work in Disney World and live on my own while in the Disney College Program. Now, five months later, my program has ended and I am ready to take on the world and –

… move back into my parents’ house?

It may not be ideal – for anyone involved – but right now, it’s the best option for me (and many other recent grads) while I search for full-time employment and work to pay off my student loan debt.

Parents across North America are facing a difficult reality: watching their children fail to launch into full-on adulthood. Although it has become more socially acceptable for young adults to move back in with their parents after graduating from university or college, some people struggle to leave the nest for good.

According to Zillow, 22.5% of people between the ages of 24 and 36 still live at home. Although many factors may contribute to millennials deciding to live in their parents’ homes, Forbes cites student loan debt and high housing costs as the main reasons.

But, what is the personal cost of adult children living with their parents, specifically in regard to relationships and intimacy?

For these now adult children, living with parents may put a strain on romantic relationships. Not having their own spaces makes it difficult for millennials to find alone time with their partners. And as the years go on, this lack of independence may be a point of embarrassment in conversation and a potential deterrent to future dates.

Consequently, this may affect their timeline for settling down and starting a life with a partner. According to the Boston Globe, “[M]illennials tend to marry later, and less frequently, than earlier generations,” but it is unclear if they “are living with parents because they’re not getting married…[or] not getting married because they’re stuck at home[.]”

For parents living with grown children, finding alone time may also be a challenge. The dynamic at home may shift back into parent-child mode, instead of adults cohabitating with other adults. Old routines, like cooking dinner and doing laundry, may slip back onto a parents’ to-do list and take precedence over dates and quality time with each other. Instead, parents should create rules and boundaries that are respectful to both their lifestyle and their adult child’s lifestyle, according to family education. http://familyeducation.

Living with my parents has it’s challenges for all, but I am ultimately grateful for the sacrifices they are making for me to help me get my feet on the ground before pushing me out of the nest –

Maura Kolhonen is a contributing writer to 50 ShadesofPink and a recent graduate from the University of Massachusetts where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree. She is seeking full-time employment and is living at home with her parents.