<p>The frontal lobe of brain doesn’t finish developing till early 20’s, which is responsible for problem solving and reasoning.</p>
<p>No matter what level the academic talent of a teen ager, in this country we do not consider they have the responsibility or maturity needed to be on their own.</p>
<p>My S is going to be a college senior in the fall. He returned home last night for the first time since spring break. I asked where he would like to live once he graduates. He first said wherever he finds a job. He later said his first choice of places to live after graduation was right here. Our town and our house! It would not be my first choice but I would not supplement him living elsewhere. I would also be clear that the goal was a job and not hanging out with his HS friends who are still in college locally.
He also said the college years have gone by so fast and he wishes he could do it all over again.
Older D would not want to move home. She would see it as a failure. Younger D is happy living at home and is considering commuting to college in a few years. But that could change.
Our neighbor across the street is now on his 3rd child living back at home in their late 20’s. Along with spouse and new baby. They have the room and they feel it helps their kids save to buy a home. They also have the elderly parents living with them as well. I think it is their family culture.</p>
<p>“The frontal lobe of brain doesn’t finish developing till early 20’s, which is responsible for problem solving and reasoning.”</p>
<p>emeraldkity4 - That explains a lot about my teenagers!</p>
<p>Dap must be understanding the Op differently than I. I got the impression the Op was asking about kids that may have reached 18, or older ones. In fact, the Op specifically asked if it would be awkward to have a child of 25 living in the parents’ home.
We all can think of extreme examples of how it might be wonderful or necessary- ailing child, ailing parent, or as you suggested, a millionaire 15 yr old, or 15 yr old college grads.</p>
<p>Clearly, I am guessing at the Op’s intent, but since the Op didn’t mention any such truly extraordinary circumstances, I chose to interpret that as her question applies to everyday parents and their offspring with no rare/unusual circumstance attached.</p>
<p>In my family, I’m the only member of my generation who didn’t “boomerang” to the parents’ house as a young adult. Observing all the pain and heartache that caused my sister’s, in-laws, and cousins’ boomerangs is one of the main reasons I have no plans to down-size our home when my kids “grow-up.” I want to be able to provide shelter if they need it.</p>
<p>I think it depends on the family dynamic and the reason. Everyone needs support every now and then, but no one likes to be taken advantage of. </p>
<p>I grew up in a multi generational situation where my Aunt lived in the house behind ours and my Grandparents around the corner. It was a wonderful set-up for our family which enabled us to stay close and support each other through many of life’s bumps. </p>
<p>Our situations are much different now as we grew up anticipating our independence while still making an effort to remain close. We are raising our children to one day be independent while maintaining strong family ties. This is a good balance for us.</p>
<p>My 25 year old daughter has been on her own since graduating college, but she has three apartment-mates. And, since she lives in Boston, she has no need for a car.
If she were to come back near her hometown in California, she couldn’t afford her own apartment or a car. She could live at home, but she would really have to be out of ideas and resources to want to do that, even though we’d be happy to have her.</p>
<pre><code> Just graduated Son will leave at the end of summer, and I doubt very much if he will ever live at home again. I remember when he was a little guy and told me he wanted to buy the house next-door and live there with his wife and family when he grows up. 
Somehow, now he doesn’t remember thinking that at all! Again, we’d be happy to have him live here as long as he would like, but he wouldn’t like. We’ve never told our kids that we expect them to be out on their own at any particular age, but they both think that after living away at college for four years, coming back home to live would be a pretty tough thing to do. They both value their freedom and find it a great motivator for financial independence. But, honestly, I love having them around, although maybe I wouldn’t love it so much if I didn’t know that they don’t plan on staying.
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