Anonymous wrote:Yes, they can live at home for a few years post high school as long as they are in college full time and/or working full time. No living in my basement playing Xbox 24/7. If they are working, they will need to pay "rent" which they will get back when they move out to help with first/last/deposit on their own place.

I always assumed they would move out to go to college, but with the price of college, they might go to community college first.

This is my take as well. My kid isn’t easy. There’s a lot going on there. But I’m thinking about it now at 12 so it will happen, even if on a slower timeline. As for the college thing, community is the way to go for complicated teen boys who don’t like school.

My kids can live at home until they are done with their terminal degree, if they want. I’m sure I was a real jerk in HS and college and my parents let me live there the 1st 2 summers of college until I decided to stay on campus on my own for jobs and summer school. My parents sat me down and said “we’re not going to treat you like a kid as long as you respect us as roommates” They laid down some rules and it was fine - do your own laundry, don’t block cars in the driveway or take a car without asking, tell people when you aren’t coming home for the night, let people know if you will be around for dinner, don’t eat all the food and leave messes everywhere, do your share of chores, etc.

To this day, my parents and I have a good relationship because they treat me like a competent adult on equal footing. My husband has a much more child-parent dynamic with his parents.