How to Deal With Moving Back Home
If you are moving back home to live with your parents as an adult, you are in good company. According to a report by the U.S. Census Bureau, there were nearly four million multi-generational households in the United States in 2008. While reclaiming your childhood bedroom can help you get back on your feet after graduating college, getting divorced or becoming unemployed, it can also cause your family dynamics to revert the way they were when you were a kid. Learn how to benefit from living with your folks without straining your relationship with them.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately Easy
Instructions
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1
Set short- and long-term goals. Determine your objective for moving back home and create measurable goals that will help you obtain this. Break down the ultimate purpose into steps that are attainable within brief periods to help ward off feelings of depression and being overwhelmed.
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2
Use your time and resources wisely. It might be tempting to regress to your teen years and while away your days shopping or hanging out with friends, but this will not help you get ahead. Spend your time volunteering in a related field if you are a recent grad seeking employment, or enroll in continuing education courses if you are a newly single parent trying to rejoin the workforce.
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3
Ask to be treated as an adult. Respectfully request that your parents do not enter your bedroom while you are away, come in without knocking, or inquire excessively about your whereabouts and plans. Setting healthy boundaries will help you remain positive about the situation.
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4
Act like an adult. You cannot expect your mother to respect your privacy if she is making your bed and laundering your clothes, or your father not to ask what time you will be home if he is preparing dinner for you. Be responsible for yourself, your items and your messes. This will reinforce the boundaries you established and prevent your parents from feeling taken advantage of.
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5
Pitch in. Whether or not your parents request that you help out financially, find ways to make your moving back home beneficial to them as well. Little things such as taking out the trash, doing the dishes or treating them to a meal will foster feelings of goodwill and help you feel capable and productive.
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