Mom, Can I Move Back In With You?: A Survival Guide for Parents of Twentysomethings

A guide for the parents of the dazed and confused generation identified in the runaway bestseller Quarterlife Crisis.

Today's twenty-somethings are facing an unprecedented cultural shift in which they're feeling lost, uncertain about the future, and/or in crisis. What used to be the traditional markers of adulthood, from getting married and starting a family to earning a living, are increasingly being delayed-and it's causing as much confusion for parents as for their adult children. Quarterlife Crisis identified the difficulties twentysomethings are facing. But what about their parents? Guiding your twenty-something kid requires a whole new set of parenting skills. Here, finally, is a book to help parents navigate this tumultuous period in their adult children's lives.

Is it OK to let your kid move back in with you because he can't seem to commit to any one career-and therefore has no paycheck coming in? What do you do when your child calls you and says that her rent is due and she needs some quick cash? Just how involved should parents be in their adult children's lives? And what do twenty-somethings actually want and need from their parents? While parents are facing an urgent need for answers, few experts are talking about the subject, and there is little conventional wisdom to draw from. In this invaluable book, Gordon and Shaffer identify the complex issues these parents are facing and offer wise and effective strategies for successfully parenting a twenty-something "kid."

Linda Perlman Gordon is a clinical social worker and trained mediator with a private psychotherapy practice in Washington, D.C. Susan Morris Shaffer is the deputy director of The Mid-Atlantic Equity Center, an organization that addresses educational equity and gender-related issues.