In Response to Questions about Older Children Living at Home
by James Lehman, MSW

There has been overwhelming response and interest in last month’s article on adult children. It was viewed over 10,000 times, was our second most emailed article ever, and has received the most reader comments of any article we've ever published. I must say I'm not surprised about this, since in my private practice I dealt with many parents who had terrible problems with children who were over 18 and still living at home. I believe this phenomenon has become a national problem. As the cost of living goes up, adult children who are not really prepared for the workforce have to make some sacrifices. Unfortunately today, kids don't like making sacrifices and parents don't want to enforce sacrifices.

A few notes before we begin. In this forum, I will not address individual cases or parents. The reason is that this forum is not counseling or therapy and should never be misconstrued as such. Rather, this is a place where I can offer you my personal opinion from 30 years of professional experience. What I will do here (and what I believe will be helpful for the most readers) is respond to the important themes that recurred within many of your responses.

"Be specific. ‘I want you to put in three applications a day. I want you making three follow up phone calls a day. And if you verbally abuse me, you’re out of the house for 24 hours.’ Remember: Nothing changes if nothing changes."

Beth From the Editor’s Desk

In December, we asked you, our now 100,000–plus readers, which you’d prefer, a monthly or weekly send of the EP Newsletter. Your overwhelming response? 95% said “We want it weekly!” So here it is…we hope you enjoy receiving EP in its new convenient format, complete with our to-the-point articles and latest blog posts that, as always, focus on helping you become a more effective parent. Another exciting piece of news: Empowering Parents was just recognized as a “2008 Best Product Winner” by the prestigious iParenting Media Awards. Not bad for our first year of publication! We owe our success to you, our readers, who are actively engaging in the parenting discussion by posting your comments and questions on our website, and recommending us to your friends, family members, and communities. You’re making Empowering Parents the place for parents to go when they need real answers to tough questions, and we thank you.

—Elisabeth Wilkins, Editor
PS Do you have article ideas, questions or comments about EP? We want to hear your thoughts—please email us at editor@empoweringparents.com.